Russian analyst rattles sabers over gas

MOSCOW, Feb. 2 (UPI) -- The gas crisis between Ukraine and Russia not only renews focus on energy infrastructure, but highlights the volatile geopolitics of the sector, analysts say.

U.S. and EU officials voiced their support for the planned Nabucco pipeline that is viewed by some as a near-universal remedy for regional energy diversity. Europe relies in part on Russia for natural gas, but 80 percent of those imports transit through Ukraine.

Azeri press agency Today.Az reviews Russian and European media outlets, noting the gas row brought simmering tensions between the West and Russia to the forefront.

"We should realize that Russia is at war with the United States, not in the geopolitical and gas sector but also in the sphere of direct confrontation," notes Alexander Dugin, a Russian expansionist at Moscow State University.

Dugin notes Russia should do what it can to block development of the Nabucco project and, as retaliation for the lingering effects of the Ukrainian gas crisis, intervene in Ukraine by military force if necessary.

"We need to frustrate Nabucco, split Ukraine, establish protectorate over the eastern and southern parts and then introduce a different political leadership there," he said. "On the whole, we should attack; otherwise, we will have to give up, both in gas and other spheres."