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"Russia has been using its energy weapon quite openly since the beginning of the 1990s" (Photo: lukoil.com)

Russia's energy weapon is backfiring

The recent energy dispute between Russia and Belarus has raised further worrying questions about Russia's reliability as an energy supplier and given fresh impetus to discussions about the need for the European Union to frame a common energy policy.

The alarm bells first rang a year ago following the Kremlin's heavy-handed decision to cut off gas supplies to Ukraine. This caused temporary gas shortages in parts of Western Europe and for the first time forced its citizens and politicians...

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The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s, not those of EUobserver

Author Bio

Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.

"Russia has been using its energy weapon quite openly since the beginning of the 1990s" (Photo: lukoil.com)

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Author Bio

Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.

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