Opinion: Europe’s energy crunch is giving Putin the upper hand
CNNEditor’s Note: David A. Andelman, a contributor to CNN, two-time winner of the Deadline Club Award, and executive director of The Red Lines Project, is the author of “A Red Line in the Sand: Diplomacy, Strategy, and the History of Wars That Might Still Happen” and host of its Evergreen podcast. Vladimir Chizhov, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s tough-minded representative to the European Union, recently said that if Europe wants to resolve any future issues with its supply of natural gas quickly, treating Russia as a “partner,” not an “adversary,” will help. With Nord Stream 2 still in the works, Russia is already Europe’s main gas supplier, accounting for 41% of its imports. The US may have non-geopolitical reasons for opposing Nord Stream 2 – and it might have reason to see American-supplied natural gas as a possible answer for Europe. That could give Putin even freer rein in his rivalry with the determinedly pro-Western government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who just this summer labeled Nord Stream 2 “a dangerous geopolitical weapon.” Russia’s warnings to Europe could also be seen as a caution to the US to back off its determined opposition to Nord Stream 2 – and its opposition to Russia’s broader efforts to form more binding ties to western Europe.