Commentary
The country’s leadership is increasingly uneasy about multiple challenges from the Levant to the South Caucasus.
Armenak Tokmajyan
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In The Media
The 2009 Time 100: Alexander Medvedev
Europe's security requires Russia's integration into a common compact with the countries of NATO and the European Union, as well as with newer states like Ukraine, Georgia and others. And a stable security arrangement needs to be flanked by an economic one encompassing the entire continent.
Published on May 11, 2009
Source: Time
Medvedev, 53, believes that Russia's business is predominantly business. Medvedev also believes in a bright future for natural gas and looks beyond the present crisis to the day when Gazprom's capitalization will shoot to a trillion dollars. Last summer it stood at a mere third of that amount.
Yet as the recurrent gas wars between Russia and Ukraine demonstrate, Europe's energy security is an area of high tension. After four decades of being Europe's main gas provider, Russia has seen its originally stellar reputation — it pumped away even as the Soviet Union was disintegrating — become severely damaged. Medvedev can give brilliant rejoinders to critics, but more and more people are talking about how to ensure Europe's energy security against the whims of Russia, its lead supplier.
Those thinking strategically about energy, however, need to think outside the box. Europe's security requires Russia's integration into a common compact with the countries of NATO and the European Union, as well as with newer states like Ukraine, Georgia and others. And a stable security arrangement needs to be flanked by an economic one encompassing the entire continent. After World War II, the nucleus of what later became the European Union was formed around the European Coal and Steel Community. With luck, a European Energy Community will be a similar catalyst for the E.U. and its post-Soviet neighbors, including Russia. Alexander Medvedev of Gazprom and President Dmitri Medvedev of the Kremlin have their work cut out for them.
This article originally appeared in Time
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
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