After the Ukrainian gas crisis, diplomats are questioning the reliability of Russia's government, according to an article in Thursday's New York Times, RAW STORY has learned.
A State Department official is quoted as saying, "Let's say that the Russians are not cutting a very splendid figure as G-8 president, precipitating an energy crisis in Europe the first day of their presidency."
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After a year of increasingly troubled relations with Russia, American and European diplomats said Wednesday that President Vladimir V. Putin's decision to withhold natural gas from Ukraine's pipelines had further undercut the West's faith in his government's reliability and raised doubts about his ability to lead the Group of 8 industrial nations this year.
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The diplomats also said the settlement of the dispute between Russia and Ukraine over natural gas prices was a step forward, but said at least some of its elements were worrisome, particularly that it named a Russian company of uncertain ownership as an intermediary in the selling of natural gas to Ukraine.
Even so, a senior State Department official said the United States would keep trying to work with Russia on several issues, especially those involving Iran's nuclear programs, without hesitating to criticize Putin's government for tightening its control over business and the political world.
