Yesterday the state natural gas monopoly, Gazprom, signed a deal to take control over the country's largest foreign investment, the massive Sakhalin II Gas Complex in the Russian Far East.

NPR: Russia's Putin Makes Trip to Neighboring Ukraine

Moves by the Kremlin to nationalize the country's energy sector by pressuring a Royal Dutch Shell-led consortium to relinquish control of the Sahalin-2 natural gas project to Russia's state-controlled monopoly Gazprom, and Putin's meetings with Arab leaders last month to explore the creation of a "natural gas cartel" demonstrate an authoritarian view of energy management that is undeniably confrontational.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Energy Squeeze