Final Word from Monday, May 4, 2026
PM Andrej Babiš and his delegation of politicians and businesspeople flew twice as far last week to get halfway to Moscow. A direct flight to the Russian capital would have been much shorter and much more to the point, but clearly politically unviable. The European Union is touting Central Asia, and especially Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, as key partners for its post-Russia energy security, despite significant Russian influence in the region. The risk of trying to depend on countries in the Russian (or perhaps Chinese) sphere of influence for energy is unabashedly overlooked, because the reality would spoil the EU's message of having sufficient options after falling out with Russia, Iran and increasingly the United States. The Czech cabinet office said that Babiš's trip "contributed to the search for new opportunities for cooperation in the energy sector, including the securing of stable, long-term supplies of strategic raw materials." It wasn't long ago that energy supplies from Russia were also considered stable. [ Czech Republic natural gas oil petroleum fossil fuels ]
Glossary of difficult words
to the point - expressing something important or suitable for the subject being discussed;
unviable - not capable of working successfully;
to tout - to advertise, speak about or praise something or someone repeatedly, esp. as a way to encourage people to like, accept or buy something;
unabashedly - without embarrassment or shame;
to fall out with - to argue or disagree with someone, resulting in a broken, strained or ended friendship or relationship.