Russia ? Russian natural gas finally flowed into Europe once again Tuesday, after Moscow and Kiev pulled back from an energy war that drastically reduced supplies to many nations for two tough winter weeks.

But the resolution looked more like a cease-fire than a permanent peace, with no guarantee against renewed hostilities between Russia and Ukraine, two former Soviet neighbors with sharply contrasting views of the future.

The experience of the last two weeks has left many in Europe bitter toward both and eager to sever an energy lifeline that leads to the gas fields of Siberia. The 27-nation European Union gets about a quarter of its gas from Russia.

Gazprom lost more than $1 billion in sales to Europe in the last two weeks and has inspired its customers to seek alternative energy sources. In the long run that could mean trouble for Russia, which is highly dependent on energy revenues for its budget.