Arnon Grunberg

Pieces

Respect

On gas – Juan Cole:

‘The conflict has an energy dimension, since Europe depends on Russia for about 35 percent of its natural gas. Natural gas prices have quadrupled this winter, making it expensive for people to heat their homes already. If Russia boycotts Europe over the Ukraine, it will create a massive energy crisis on the continent and make it difficult for US allies to be completely supportive of the Biden line that Russia must cease meddling in Ukraine affairs or trying to detach pieces of it. The admiral who headed the German navy just had to resign because his remarks became public, that Russia doesn’t want bits of the Ukraine, it just wants the respect owed a great power. Observers worried that a lot of Germans high in the government might think that way and decline to back Washington’s hard line.’

Read Cole here.

No government in Europe wants to alienate voters with much higher energy prices for Ukraine. It’s not only that no European outside Ukraine wants to die for Ukraine, understandably so – most Dutch people don’t even want to die for the Netherlands, and again understandably so – but they don’t even want to pay twenty euros a month more for energy for the perseverance of NATO.

My guess: a majority in Europe would rather live under a dictatorship than to pay fairly more for gas and oil.

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