--- title: Bill Richardson: Our Best Response to Russia Is Energy Security description: Washington must leverage our energy bounty to advance our foreign policy goals. canonical: https://time.com/28232/bill-richardson-our-best-response-to-russia-is-energy-security/ author: Bill Richardson article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-03-18T09:45:51.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:53:51.731Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Bill Richardson: Our Best Response to Russia Is Energy Security og:description: Washington must leverage our energy bounty to advance our foreign policy goals. og:url: https://time.com/28232/bill-richardson-our-best-response-to-russia-is-energy-security/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt72bdd3682da41cc0/698685e935ba6f09a2c0102e/bill-richardson.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1800 og:image:height: 1013 og:image:alt: Gov. Bill Richardson og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Bill Richardson: Our Best Response to Russia Is Energy Security twitter:description: Washington must leverage our energy bounty to advance our foreign policy goals. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt72bdd3682da41cc0/698685e935ba6f09a2c0102e/bill-richardson.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Bill Richardson: Our Best Response to Russia Is Energy Security > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Inside TIME: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Inside TIME is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories. 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Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. by [Bill Richardson](https://time.com/author/gov-bill-richardson/) ## Bill Richardson Mar 18, 2014 9:45 AM UTC  Former US Energy Secretary, Bill Richardson speaks at the US competitiveness on energy policy at the Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) summit in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, April 23, 2013\. The BNEF Summit, now in its sixth year, gathers political and thought leaders to explore key themes that are driving the agenda of the energy industry. Photographer: Peter Foley/Bloomberg \*\*\* Local Cap Former US Energy Secretary, Bill Richardson speaks at the US competitiveness on energy policy at the Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) summit in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, April 23, 2013\. The BNEF Summit, now in its sixth year, gathers political and thought leaders to explore key themes that are driving the agenda of the energy industry. Photographer: Peter Foley/Bloomberg \*\*\* Local Cap Peter Foley—Bloomberg/Getty Images by [Bill Richardson](https://time.com/author/gov-bill-richardson/) ## Bill Richardson Mar 18, 2014 9:45 AM UTC In the short term, the key questions surrounding the crisis in the Ukraine involve whether Russia’s expansionist tendencies will continue in the Ukraine after the Crimean vote and, subsequently, the effectiveness and intensity of the American and European sanctions in the ensuing weeks. Longer term, America and the West need to take several steps: As a starter, the U.S. should consider bringing back the anti-missile defense in Poland; additionally, it should ensure the Ukrainian defense forces are strengthened, and it should also re-evaluate increasing defense support for strong U.S.-friendly countries like Moldova, Azerbaijan, and Lithuania. But the most powerful response from the West must come in the form of transatlantic energy security. The importance of European and Eurasian energy independence from Russia has only increased over time. Both regions have been taking measured steps to reduce their dependence on Russia, especially after the Russia-Ukraine gas disputes of 2006 and 2009, which left much of Europe under-heated in those winters. The pace of these efforts must increase rapidly. We know how to do this. Back in the 1990s one of my main assignments when I was Secretary of Energy was creating the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, running from the Caspian Sea through Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey to the Mediterranean. So I know that Europeans and Americans can work together to create strategically sound solutions to provide reliable sources of energy to Europe and Eurasia. Transatlantic energy security has never been fully achieved, however, because Russia’s tactics in politicizing natural gas exports have worked. And they will continue to work in strengthening Russia’s influence until Berlin, Brussels, and Washington are on the same page. Strongly supporting projects, such as the Trans-Adriatic and Anatolian Pipelines to extend the East-West energy corridor (connecting the Caucasus and Central Asia to world markets), is not just important for securing regional independence from Russia. These projects are in the West’s long-term interests as well. At the same time, Washington is deciding whether it will leverage the United States’ energy bounty in order to advance its foreign policy goals during the most serious East-West crisis in a generation. The United States’ shale gas revolution has boosted its economic competitiveness and helped reduce U.S. carbon emissions to their lowest levels in 20 years. Exporting this natural gas would decrease European and Eurasian dependence on Russia, empowering U.S allies while sending Moscow a clear signal of the seriousness we place on transatlantic energy security. Achieving a transatlantic energy security strategy in coordination with key countries in the region, such as Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Poland, would be a very important step toward ensuring that the region can be truly free from undue interference from Russia. Playing the long game and focusing on the energy trends that are working in our favor will be critical for the West. Now is the time for some old-fashioned diplomacy, working with our allies to craft solutions that achieve greater independence from Russia. The best place to start is with transatlantic energy security. In the end, after all the smoke clears, both the U.S. and Russia need to build a more mature and cooperative relationship. The world does not need another Cold War. _Bill Richardson is a former Secretary of Energy and Ambassador to the U.N._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/28232/bill-richardson-our-best-response-to-russia-is-energy-security/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/28232/bill-richardson-our-best-response-to-russia-is-energy-security/"},"headline":"Bill Richardson: Our Best Response to Russia Is Energy Security","datePublished":"2014-03-18T09:45:51.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:53:51.731Z","description":"Washington must leverage our energy bounty to advance our foreign policy goals.","url":"https://time.com/28232/bill-richardson-our-best-response-to-russia-is-energy-security/","keywords":["energy","Ukraine","russia","europe","Crimea"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt72bdd3682da41cc0/698685e935ba6f09a2c0102e/bill-richardson.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Bill Richardson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/gov-bill-richardson/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt72bdd3682da41cc0/698685e935ba6f09a2c0102e/bill-richardson.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Gov. 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