Final Word from Wednesday, August 6, 2008
If Russia is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma, oil from Russia is a secret, swathed in an offshore company, encased in pipelines of uncertain provenance. The Czech oil crisis disappeared as suddenly as it appeared, and no one this side of the Carpathians admits to having any explanation for what happened. On the other side of the mountains, the explanations are plentiful, but none is satisfying. Vladimir Putin blamed it on unnamed offshore companies; Vice PM Igor Sechin blamed it on the Ukrainians for forcing Russian companies to look for new delivery routes, and for good measure, he blamed it on the Czechs for not signing a bilateral memo on the governmental level; Tatneft blamed it on the Turks for paying more than the Czechs. All's well that ends well, but not if the Czechs have no clue as to what caused the crisis or whether it can happen again at the drop of a fur hat.[Czech Republic Turkey Transneft Druzhba Friendship Ukraine]
Glossary of difficult words
a riddle, wrapped in a mystery... - a famous quotation from Winston Churchill;
swathed - wrapped in several layers;
provenance - origin;
plentiful - abundant, existing in great quantities;
for good measure - in addition to what has already been done or said;
Tatneft - one of two Russian companies responsible for oil imports into the CR (through intermediaries);
to not have a clue - to know nothing about something;
at the drop of a hat - without a good reason.