Though prices collapsed during the Great Recession of 2009, they quickly recovered, with the value of Russian output reaching another peak in 2012-2013 – precisely when Russia’s position on the EU-Ukraine association agreement hardened. Given that the EU and Ukraine had already been negotiating the deal for more than two years, without much reaction from Russia, the EU was blindsided by the Kremlin’s sudden sharp objections.
随着油价的稳步攀升，俄罗斯石油产量的价值达到了新高峰，2008年大约比1999年增加了九倍。同一年，俄罗斯入侵格鲁吉亚。尽管2009年大衰退时期油价出现了崩盘，但随后又迅速恢复，俄罗斯产出的价值在2012&mdash;2013年达到了又一顶峰&mdash;&mdash;这也正是俄罗斯对欧盟-乌克兰入盟协议态度开始强硬的时候。欧盟和乌克兰在两年多前就已开始谈判该协议，俄罗斯对此并没有多大的反应，因此，克里姆林宫突然表现出激烈反对让欧盟措手不及。