RUSSIAN CO-OPERATION WITH THE EU

From a Russian point of view, the European debate about energy is all over the place. The Europeans keep demanding that Russia expend huge sums to develop complex new fields. But they struggle to give Russia a clear idea about much gas they will want to buy from it in say 20 years time. They want Russia to allow Western energy companies to invest more in the energy sector. At the same time they are drawing new rules to prevent Russian companies from buying pipelines in the EU. Despite noble words about 'EU Energy Solidarity' companies from individual EU countries are happy to sign long term bilateral supply deals with Russia. Some of these companies have teamed up with Gazprom to build new offshore pipelines that other EU countries perceive as threat to their energy security. And then Russia gets blamed for a strategy of 'divide and rule'.

First Russia's energy policy is much more about seeking profits than about establishing political domination. Russia's interests in energy is overwhelmingly business-related. Russia's business is business. Like Russia, Gazprom wants to make money, be strong, rich and respected. There is no 'geopolitics' per se. Gazprom's moves are often misconstrued as a tool of some political strategy. The reality is different: energy is a political business, but it is business first and last.

What is really bothering is that all offers the EU makes to Russia are not so much models of cooperation as they are mechanisms to neutralize Russia as a risk factor. It is time to abandon the logic that says Russia must prove itself and adopt without question all the conditions dictated to it. There is an urgent need to abandon the logic that treats any behaviour on Russia's part as a threat to the West, as a sign of authoritarianism, of an 'energy war' that the 'Russians are coming' and so on.The starting point for a genuine dialogue must be that each party has its own interests. These interests do not always coincide (between suppliers and consumers). This is natural but that certainly doesn't mean that they are mutually exclusive and insurmountable On the contrary, they are naturally complementary. It is in Russia's interests to co-operate with its main trading partners in the energy and other sectors, and not just for commercial reasons. But the terms must be reciprocal.