Western officials are scrambling to loosen Russia’s energy stranglehold on Ukraine, the latest sign of growing pressure on Moscow to end the crisis. The options being considered by officials from Brussels to Washington include larger exports of U.S.-made natural gas, reversing the flow of natural gas through pipelines from Western Europe back into Ukraine, and accelerating plans across Europe to buy more energy from countries other than Russia. “If no solution to this can be found,” European countries will “recast their approach to energy and economic links with Russia over time,” U.K. Foreign Secretary William Hague said Sunday. Western officials also have threatened sanctions against Russia if the Kremlin continues its occupation of the Crimea region of Ukraine. The threats have failed so far, with Russian President Vladimir Putin declaring his support Sunday for Crimea’s move to secede from Ukraine. The region could join Russia as soon as this […]