"The EU should review its perception of what Russian outward-looking economic policies stand for," argues Maria Ordzhonikidze, secretary-general of the EU-Russia Centre.

Historically, Russia's gas monopoly has always been in "perpetual conflict with [European] transit countries for its commodities," the author states. However, she laments that the EU seems yet again "to have been unprepared for what was a predictable sequel to an old conflict". READ MORE