RUSSIA CUTS OFF EUROPEAN GAS SUPPLIES, STARTS SELLING DOLLARS
Posted by EU Times on Jan 15th, 2015

Vladimir Putin has been silent lately. But if anyone thought he had been shamed into defeat or marginalized, then think again.

In the last few hours Russia has announced two key strategic decisions that show they are not going to stand idly by while their economy and way of life are destroyed by Western forces.

First, presumably in response to stiff sanctions leveled by the United States and the European Union after the annexation of Crimea last year, Russia has cut off 60% of Europe’s gas supplies right in the middle of winter. This has caused an almost immediate crisis in six European nations that have seen a complete cut-off to their supplies – Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Croatia and Turkey – with more to follow. According to reports via Zero Hedge, the effect has been almost instantaneous.

Without Russia residents across Europe have no way of staying warm.

Vladimir Putin ordered the Russian state energy giant Gazprom to cut supplies to and through Ukraine amid accusations, according to The Daily Mail, that its neighbor has been siphoning off and stealing Russian gas. Due to these “transit risks for European consumers in the territory of Ukraine,” Gazprom cut gas exports to Europe by 60%, plunging the continent into an energy crisis “within hours.” Perhaps explaining the explosion higher in NatGas prices (and oil) today, gas companies in Ukraine confirmed that Russia had cut off supply; and six countries reported a complete shut-off of Russian gas. The EU raged that the sudden cut-off to some of its member countries was “completely unacceptable,” but Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller later added that Russia plans to shift all its natural gas flows crossing Ukraine to a route via Turkey; and Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak stated unequivocally, “the decision has been made.”

Russia has taken similar steps in the past because of non-payment but turned the gas supplies back on once deals were reached.
This time, however, there won’t be a deal.

Russia says it will deliver the gas through Turkey, and then it’s up to the European Union to build the infrastructure that will transport it to the rest of the continent, as noted by Bloomberg.

“Transit risks for European consumers on the territory of Ukraine remain,” Miller said in an e-mailed statement. “There are no other options” except for the planned Turkish Stream link, he said.

“We have informed our European partners, and now it is up to them to put in place the necessary infrastructure starting from the Turkish-Greek border,” Miller said.

CON'T
http://www.eutimes.net/2015/01/russia-cuts-off-european-gas-supplies-starts-selling-dollars/

http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Zero_Hedge


http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Zero_Hedge

The only reputable sources I can find for the gold story says that


http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-12-22/ukraine-probes-gold-swapped-for-lead-in-central-bank-storage

but also post a link that proves them correct on the missing gold? I note that you consistently aim at denigrating any source that doesn't fit the narrative you would prefer put forth. Bloomberg has been pumping out shameless propaganda for the last couple of years by the way. Zero Hedge leads them on many stories that have proven to be invaluable when it comes to finance. Thats why investors trust them. Simply put, that is why Zero Hedge is so popular.

Here enjoy this link to the top 100 most influential insider blogs for finance. Zero Hedge comes in at number 2 right after the Wall Street Journals blog, whereas CNBC is back at the 51. http://www.insidermonkey.com/blog/best-finance-blogs-199748/

I guess investors know where to go for good info. What say you?

gold that was looted from Germany. Then present the bill!