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What Europe's late January 2018 signals meant for Kyiv
Summary
A look back at two reports from 27 January 2018 that shaped the regional debate on Russia, sanctions and energy.
What did Europe's politics tell Ukraine's neighbourhood as of 2 February 2018? Two reports from 27 January, days earlier, framed the mood.
In the Czech Republic, incumbent Miloš Zeman won a second term as President, taking 51.8 percent in the run-off against the pro-EU challenger Jiří Drahoš. Zeman opposes immigration and objects to EU sanctions against Russia. His re-election meant a sitting head of state in an EU country remained on record against that sanctions policy.
The same day, the United States Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, said that the U.S. and Poland oppose the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. According to the report, both see it as undermining Europe's overall energy security and stability.
The two items point in different directions. One shows a European electorate returning a leader sceptical of sanctions on Russia; the other shows Washington and Warsaw aligned against a major energy project. Together, they illustrate that, as of 2 February 2018, views on how to handle Russia, whether through sanctions or energy policy, were not uniform across Europe and its partners.
