Syria, Russia, and the U.S.

Let us not forget that the Queen on the board for Russia is Georgia and the pipeline.  This Syrian conflict and resultant clash of weapons systems between Russia and the U.S. is a sideshow.

The E.U. is taking orders from Washington as well it seems.

A showdown with Gazprom risks inflaming relations with Russia just as Putin prepares to host a meeting of leaders from the Group of 20 nations next month in St. Petersburg. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned this month that if the European Union imposes antitrust sanctions against Gazprom, “it will be difficult for the company to operate in markets where it faces open discrimination.”

The “case has the potential to seriously disturb EU-Russia relations,” said Thijs Van de Graaf, a researcher at the Ghent Institute for International Studies in Belgium. “Gazprom is not a normal company in Russia. It does not only give account to its shareholders but also serves political goals.”