~It was a rare diplomatic defeat for Mr. Putin, who said Russia would redirect the pipeline to Turkey. He painted the failure to build the pipeline as a loss for Europe and blamed Brussels for its intransigence.~
Why is it not a loss for Europe? A lot was said about “energy blackmail” by Russia but it is yet to translate to reality.
All the problems with European supply in mid2000s was actually attributed to Ukraine, which routinely failed to pay its gas bills and siphoned supply intended to West European consumers.
Russia got all the bad press over it because it was useless to put blame on Ukraine - it simply couldn’t solve a thing though Russia might have been bullied into pumping more gas to compensate theft.
Nord Stream down the Baltic Sea was a way to secure German market from Ukrainian factor.
South Stream was a possibility for Austria and South Europe to secure theirs.
It is noble that EU have chosen to stand with Ukraine but it would stay noble only if they would stay by Ukraine then it would be a problem for their transit once again and of course they should pay the price.
Russia has been engaging in energy blackmail for decades. It might be news to you. lol
A couple of shipping terminals and tankers full of US gas could be heading to keep Europe warm this winter.