From Newsweek:
Although Russia recently ended its shutdown of the natural-gas pipeline that runs through Ukraine to Europe, the seeds for a new dispute are already being sown.
For nearly three weeks earlier this month, Russia and Ukraine were locked in a dispute over the price Kiev was to pay for Russian gas. As the two sides bickered, Russia shut off all gas supplies to Ukraine, while paying customers in Eastern Europe who depend on Gazprom's supplies had to endure freezing temperatures. Bulgaria declared a national emergency and vowed to reopen a Soviet-era nuclear power station to ensure its energy independence. Both sides called it a purely commercial dispute, but politicians in Kiev charge that the gas war has something to do with the Kremlin's dislike of Ukraine's pro-Western, pro-European Union president
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My Comment: This is so typical of European Governments. They knew years ago that there was always a threat of a gas shutdown. But they still did nothing.
What must be infuriating to the people who are most effected by this, is that even with this experience of the past month, the governments involved will still take years before alternative routes are developed and constructed.
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