MALAISE AT THE G8.

The G8 club of leading industrialised nations will be meeting in Moscow on February 11 and 12. Chaired this year by Russia, the G8 ministerial has chosen to put energy high on its agenda. Is this just a coincidence or a case of basic political manipulation? Russia is anything but neutral in the current energy situation. By necessity and by brute force, it has established itself as a major player in global energy supplies. It continues to profit handsomely from rising oil prices as the world's second and sometimes leading producer. It has a stranglehold on gas supplies to Europe as a result notably of its policy of systematically buying up gas networks between its own borders and Europe. It is expecting much from electricity network interconnection with the rest of Europe and has already begun buying up assets in neighbouring counties, and indeed beyond. On the Iranian nuclear dossier, Russia has blown hot and cold about referral to the United Nations Security Council. No-one can now doubt Vladimir Putin's desire for hegemony over energy issues.

However, can Russia act as an honest broker with its G8 partners in discussing how to resolve global economic problems - the aim of G8 meetings - when Moscow's practices show a singular lack of...