U.S. Calls on Europe to Wean Itself From Russian Gas

The United States on Wednesday called on Europe to wean itself from a dangerous dependency on Russian gas, saying it was time to stand together and bring an end to the Kremlin’s use of energy supplies as political leverage.

Left unsaid was the European Union’s reluctance to follow the United States headlong into shale gas extraction, which has transformed the global energy scene and turned the U.S. from importer into a nascent exporter. Or its refusal to fully re-embrace nuclear power in the wake of the Fukushima disaster in Japan.

Europe’s reliance on Russia for a third of its energy needs has left the Kremlin in a position of power, emboldening it as it swept in to annex Crimea from Ukraine last month, with little more than diplomatic protest and a few sanctions in return.

In his first interview since fleeing to Russia, Ukraine’s ousted president, Viktor Yanukovych, said Wednesday that he was “wrong” to invite Russian troops into Crimea and said he would try to persuade Russia to return the coveted Black Sea peninsula.

Yanukovych told The Associated Press and Russia’s state media that he still hopes to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin to get the annexed region back.

“Crimea is a tragedy, a major tragedy,” Yanukovych said, insisting that Russia would not have taken over Crimea if he had stayed in power. He denied allegations of corruption, saying he built his palatial residence with his own money and denied responsibility for the sniper deaths of about 80 protesters in February, for which he has been charged by Ukraine’s interim government.

As the world has watched the tumultuous events in Ukraine, Yanukovych has been a bit of a ghost, even as he has insisted he is still the country’s true leader. While Putin has been openly dismissive of Yanukovych, the Russian president has also described him as the legitimate leader and his ouster as illegal.

Putin said last month that Yanukovych had asked Russia to send its troops to Ukraine to protect its people — a request seen as treason by many Ukrainians. Asked about the move, Yanukovych said he had erred.

“I was wrong,” he said. “I acted on my emotions.”

This article appeared in print on page 3 of the April 3rd, 2014 edition of Hamodia.