Retract That

Wiley, mendacious, brutal Vladimir Putin. Untrustworthy, cunning and complacent about his machinations that are victimizing and alienating so many European countries that would far prefer to be collegial with Russia. No sooner is the agreement to continue shipping Russia's natural gas through Ukraine's pipeline signed with a flourish, Mr. Putin magnanimously agreeing to put an end to the misery of Europeans shivering in the dark, their factories and shops shutting down, than he suddenly has a change of heart.

"I am ordering the government not to accept the document signed yesterday. We are obliged to consider the document signed as null and void." Ukraine committed yet another unpardonable sin. It cannot, must not be permitted to attempt to resurrect its reputation as an honest middleman. By inserting a little note to the effect that EU-affiliated monitors - put in place to inspect the shipped gas to ensure that Ukraine does not attempt to siphon off what is not meant for its internal consumption - clarify their findings, Messrs Putin and Medvedev are mortally affronted.

Ukraine, they claim, by its impudent insertion has eviscerated the accord of its purpose. Its purpose, ostensibly, to pave the way for energy supplies to resume to freezing Europe, but in reality, to consolidate Russian claims that Ukraine is responsible for stealing gas and therefore not only suspect, but intolerably unreliable. Ukraine must, perforce, sign the deal again "without any additions or notes", rendering it incapable of defending its honour. Precisely the intent.

The declaration that Ukraine no longer owes money to Russia's gas provider and that it denies the Russian charge that it engages in stealing gas intended to be delivered to Europe must be denied. Its inclusion was said to "simply contradict the document signed by us and the European Union". While the European Commission claimed it had merely "taken note of a Ukrainian declaration" and that "this declaration changes nothing in the agreement".

Defensively mealy-mouthed. And meanwhile, the Kremlin continues its underhanded stunts, side-lining gas through alternate pipelines certain not to flow through to the European countries anticipating delivery, doing everything it can think of to damage Ukraine's reputation as a trustworthy and reliable transit country. Except that the end result of this transparently absurd farce has finally convinced the European Union that it can no longer continue to place its trust in Russia.

Channelling gas supplies through alternate, inefficient routes and applying inadequate pressure, then solidifying the charade by denying access through physical force to the EU monitors whose presence was agreed upon by Russia along with Ukraine, to monitor gas flows, has brought the European Union to the realization it must look elsewhere for its energy needs.

Nuclear power on a grand scale looms large on the horizon.