Moscow is no longer sending its Cossacks on horseback, its vodka freak foot soldiers or T-34 hoards to invade Western Europe. Not even the intercontinental missiles are any longer interesting to Kremlin strategists. The red button in the nuclear suitcase has lost much of its significance. Were I in Putin's shoes, I would make an army general out of the worker who rules the gaspipe or the oil one, in case this worker isn't a colonel already. The respective worker makes the whole European Union tremble with cold or fear or both. Today's entire Western civilization relies on electricity and hydrocarbons. At present Moscow knows how to take efficient advantage of this dependence - natural gas and oil reserves have become a strategic weapon in the EU-Russian relations. Early this week the Westerners were humiliated by Moscow's skilful diplomat Serghei Lavrov, who mocked them overtly: We want to join no energy Chart. If your energy Chart is so good, then use it to restore discipline onto those who stop hydrocarbon supplies, that is Ukraine and Belorussia. Lavrov forgot to say that Minsk and Kiev blocked the pipes to take the advice from Moscow and the latter is shrewd enough - the ex Soviet states that go astray and head the EU find themselves buying more expensive hydrocarbons. Moscow changed the game when it became obvious that the nuclear missile race had grown too expensive. The rebuilding of the Empire called for a controlled crisis period: you play democracy (with former party leaders on top of or at the bottom of the list) in Central and Eastern Europe, until we reform things around, in Kremlin. The oligarchs in conflict with the silovki (men of reform in the Soviet secret services) went either to Great Britain or to jail. The European Union should be a shield for the smaller states, but it isn't so at all: the great ones in the European Union continue to pursue their own interests. Given the present rhythm of political evolutions, the European Union will kneel down in front of Russia. The trio who reached Moscow at the beginning of this week failed to get any results. Lavrov is as calm as possible: you grand Kosovo with independence and you'll see real fun starting in Transdniestria (the fun has already started, as Tyraspol authorities have profaned the remains of Romanian soldiers who fought in WW II). You want energy? Very well, calm the Poles down. I picture there were roars of laughter in the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, because of the EU request that European investors should be allowed to enter the Russian energy market: How can I give you something that is mine for free?! If there was any Chancellery who had ignored Russia's power until yesterday, from now on they have reasons to fear. Putin's words on the NATO proposal, uttered during the yearly press conference of press envoys to Moscow, may be taken as a true declaration of war: "Our response will be asymmetric, but extremely efficient." The brutal stops of hydrocarbon supplies are nothing, as compared to what the present success of Peter the Great, the future boss of the world's greatest energy company, is plotting. Putin is plotting a hyper-alliance of state that own natural gas reserve and he claims he is interested in mere "cooperation." And cooperation it will indeed be: all gas consumers will dance on the tune played by the man to head this company. I don't fancy Putin will step back to play with the cats, given his achievements in Kremlin. I picture him heading this company. I can also remember that after he gave Chancellor Schroder a pipe via the Baltic Sea as a gift, Putin hired the same Schroder to work for Gazprom. Every time I hear about the Russian-German friendship, I get scared for Romania...

George DAMIAN