That is the opposite of true, Kstat. Using fossil fuels as leverage for political power is CENTRAL to russia.
[
www.sciencedirect.com]
"the Putin era saw a resurgence of Russian power. A key component of this power is Russia’s ability to use its oil and gas reserves as foreign policy tools.1 If anything, the role of such policies has only increased under the new Russian President, Dimitri Medvedev. Before taking office he was the chair of the state gas monopoly, Gazprom, a key instrument of Moscow’s ‘petro-power.’
Recent examples of the role of this power have included both ‘petro-carrots’ (using oil and gas to reward allies) and ‘petro-sticks’ (using resources to punish states which defy the Kremlin). As this paper will show, states such as Georgia, the Ukraine and the Baltic States have been punished with supply interruptions and higher prices after their governments turned toward the West. Conversely, those who remained friendly to the Kremlin—such as Armenia, Belorussia, Ukraine before 2005, and the tiny statelets of Abkhazia, North Ossetia, and Trans-Dniestria—have been granted ample oil and gas at subsidized prices."
2014
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energycommerce.house.gov]
2015
[
www.independent.co.uk]
2018
[
www.express.co.uk]
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/30/2018 03:13PM by physics.