The West trapped by Russian gas – US pressure on Hungary, Slovakia, and Turkey
Europe’s energy dependence on Russia continues to undermine the effectiveness of sanctions against Moscow, admitted openly by US Ambassador to NATO, Matthew Whitaker, during a session at the Atlantic Council.
Despite Western efforts to curb Russian revenues, several NATO member states still import natural gas and oil from Moscow, often at prices significantly lower than global market rates. The American diplomat specifically cited Hungary, Slovakia, and Turkey, which continue to meet a large share of their energy needs through direct Russian pipelines.
“Without Russian gas, sanctions gain power”
Whitaker stressed that as long as European countries “keep sending European money to Russia for energy,” the impact of sanctions is drastically weakened.
By contrast, countries such as Poland and the Czech Republic, which have fully detached themselves from Russian energy sources, are viewed by Washington as “models of energy independence.”
The “weaning-off” plan
The US and the EU are working on a plan to “wean” these countries off Russian energy, which includes:
- increasing imports of American LNG (liquefied natural gas);
- investing in new pipelines;
- cooperation on alternative energy sources.
However, this transition is far from simple.
Moscow continues to offer preferential prices and long-term contracts that remain highly attractive to Central European countries and to geopolitically critical Turkey.
Europe’s energy chessboard
The issue highlights one of Europe’s greatest dilemmas since the start of the war in Ukraine:
can it impose truly effective sanctions on Russia without jeopardising its own energy security?
Or does Moscow still hold the “key” to Europe’s economy through the very pipelines that criss-cross the continent?
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