CHANGE: The end of an era: Russia loses its gas grip on Europe.

Claims that Asia could replace Europe as Russia’s primary gas market ignore several crucial realities. The Asian market remains a distinctly inferior alternative, even as a stopgap measure. Several factors make this evident:

Logistics heavily favor Europe – most existing infrastructure points westward, making European delivery both cheaper and faster than Asian alternatives.

European market dynamics historically yielded higher prices, as competition and environmental regulations made Russian imports particularly attractive.

Russia’s self-inflicted reputation damage through political manipulation and warfare has severely limited its negotiating position for long-term contracts in both Europe and Asia.

Asia enjoys abundant alternatives with shorter supply routes – China, the prime potential customer for Russian gas, has diverse options from Qatar to Turkmenistan, Iran to Southeast Asia and Africa.

Heckuva job, Vlad, losing gas revenue Moscow had enjoyed even during some of the tensest years of the Cold War.