If I am in the business of producing cars and my biggest customers are imposing idiotic policies that force themselves to walk everywhere they travel, you can be sure I’m going to start looking elsewhere for new customers. This is basically what the “green energy” nonsense of the West has brought us.
“I have a different perspective. As I see it, the end result is likely to be that Russia becomes more Asian than European.”
Yep, we had a choice, either bring Russia into our orbit, on their terms, which meant that they could continue to do what’s best for the Russian people, rather than on the terms of Neocons, Globalists, and Greens. Europe couldn’t agree to those terms, as they feel it their right to run the world, and if Putin wouldn’t answer to them, they’d make him pay.
As it was, if Europe was to get anywhere close to reducing their carbon-energy usage by anything close to their 90% goal over the next 10 to 20 years, than Russian gas exports to Europe will nearly dry up. So Russia has to turn to Asia and other countries, regardless.
What this insane reaction by the West has done is greatly accelerate this move, and will now make it encompass much more than just energy. But the neocons don’t care, since they’ve gotten the war they needed to replace Afghanistan.