Russia’s Energy Minister Alexander Novak cancelled his Mar. 4 appearance at IHS CERAWeek given rising tensions between Russia and the Ukraine, and conference panelists discussed the emerging geopolitical situation and what it might mean for energy. Thane Gustafson, IHS senior director of Russian and Caspian energy, said an interim government is going to have to maintain order in Ukraine and to find candidates for an upcoming presidential election. “Ukraine needs fixing,” Gustafson said, adding that he believes “Moscow and the Western countries have to work together” toward a peaceful resolution. Angela Stent, Georgetown University professor in Washington, DC, and an author on US-Russian relations, said, “This isn’t the Cold War…but it has the feel of a Cold War.” She noted “a huge difference” between Russia and the defunct Soviet Union. “This is the worse time in relations between Russia and the West since the collapse of the Soviet Union,” […]