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Ukraine’s energy brinkmanship / Chi Kong Chyong and Pierre Noël, Politics and Strategy, 10/10/2014https://www.iiss.org/en/politics%20and%20strategy/blogsections/2014-d2de/october-931b/ukraine-energy-brinkmanship-bc8fIn the fog of its foreign-policy confrontation with Russia over Ukraine, the European Union seems unable to see its energy-security interests clearly or to act accordingly.Kiev has used the international crisis triggered by Russia’s actions in Crimea and eastern Ukraine to restructure the contracts with Moscow it signed in 2009. It wants a much lower price for its gas imports and the ability to swap gas with Gazprom’s clients in Western Europe. It also disagrees with Russia on the value of the gas debt that it has accumulated over the years. To obtain what it wants, Ukraine has engaged in a game of chicken that threatens European gas consumers. The EU should have responded quickly and strongly to such brinkmanship; instead, it has remained passive...