Much of your article on the European Union’s dependence on Russian oil and gas is as it should be: worrying (“Dependent Territory,” August 23, 2008). As you show, the Union’s dependence will only grow as Norway, its second-biggest supplier, declines over time. By 2030, Russia is expected to take on much of the Union’s growing needs. Worrying, indeed, given Russia’s recent excursion into Georgia, through which alternative oil and gas sources could reach the Union with America’s help. But you spoil it all with your very last sentence, in which you state callously that Russia depends on the Union, too, as it has nowhere else to sell its oil and gas. Are you kidding? Have you ever heard of China? Have you ever considered its own growing needs? By 2030 there surely will be Russian pipelines aplenty going east.