Russia-Ukraine Natgas Feud Highlights Europe's Dependence On Moscow Fuel; Pipelines Restored, For Now; Europe gets 25% of gas from Russia, which uses energy for political ends.(A)

Byline: IBD STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

Russia's natural gas deliveries to European customers returned to normal Tuesday after key European partners complained that Moscow was using energy as a political tool.

State-controlled Gazprom cut off Ukraine's gas on Jan. 1 when Kiev rejected a big hike in prices. Western Europe also was affected, with Moscow and its former ally blaming one another for the continent-wide winter supply disruptions.

EU energy officials meet for emergency talks on Wednesday as they re-evaluate how to make their energy supplies secure.

The Ukraine dispute has many countries reassessing how much energy they want to get from Russia, said Michael Cohen, an analyst with the Energy Information Agency.

"This definitely puts the supply security of Europe into question," Cohen said. "China and India too may be rethinking their dealings with Russia."

Romania will consider switching back to coal and building new hydroelectric plants to reduce its dependency on imported gas, its prime minister said Tuesday.