World Crunch: Could Iran Replace Russia As Europe's Gas Provider?

Another twist on the geopolitical and economic chessboard. As relations sour with Russia over Ukraine, Europe looks at an increasingly accessible Iran. But it's not so simple.

Gazprom has halted gas supplies this week to Ukraine in a dispute over unpaid bills and amid the ongoing conflict between Kiev and Moscow. As a side-effect, Russia says Europe could witness occasional disruptions in its gas supplies that flow through Ukraine.

But imagine another, much more far-reaching scenario, where not a single molecule of methane flows through the pipes that pass via Ukraine, Belarus and the Baltic Sea to provide Europe with the precious fuel.

What if the European Union decided to forego Russian gas in response to President Vladimir Putin’s aggressive stance on Ukraine, effectively ending a 40-year cooperation initiated during the Leonid Brezhnev era of stagnation?
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