Word: liberti
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...This is in large part Sarkozy sprinting to close the lead the Germans and Italians got early on by putting politics aside in order to cut energy deals with Russia," says Fabio Liberti, an expert on Russia and European affairs at the Institute of International and Strategic Relations in Paris. "Sarkozy also knows Europe's defense industry is still largely divided along national lines and appears destined for huge restructuring and consolidation. The nation with the biggest contracts out will get the biggest slice of that consolidated European pie - which is why neither the Mistral deal nor Russia...
...Still, Liberti says Sarkozy's overtures may bear fruit in the longer run - especially considering the perceptions in both countries that the Obama Administration has little interest in Europe or Russia. "That's a gap in which Sarkozy could create a special Franco-Russian relationship, which over time could be expanded to establish a wider economic and security arrangement between Europe and Russia," Liberti explains. Such a development would behoove both sides - and mark a rare case of a good collective result arising from individual cynicism...
...became a non-event, because an initiative that corresponded to the very logic and mission of the European Union itself became undermined by a lot of political factors," says Liberti. "Just as people now tend to view E.U. enlargement as a mistake - rather than examine the errors made in managing it - leaders have gotten shy about the Eastern Partnerships over how it might look, rather than what it will...
...However, Liberti notes that efforts to placate Moscow may only go so far - especially given the energy stakes the EaP involves. He says repeated moves by the Kremlin to choke off gas supplies pumped to Europe via the Ukraine have left many E.U. leaders determined to wean themselves off of their Russian gas dependency. For that reason, Liberti says, developing and exporting new energy resources for EaP signatories like Azerbaijan remains high a priority, along with building a new pipeline to Europe via central Asia that bypasses Russia completely...
...Europe is in this schizophrenic mode in which we're trying to create partnerships without creating them too much, and trying to undermine Russian influence without challenging Russia," Liberti notes. "At the same time, Germany and Italy sign long-term bilateral gas contracts with Russia that increase their dependency...