Russia 'must play by the rules'
2008-08-31 09:34
London - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown warned that Russia must not be allowed to subject Europe to an "energy stranglehold" and said Nato should review relations with Moscow in the light of its actions in Georgia.
In an article in Sunday's Observer newspaper, Brown said he
had spoken to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and told him to
expect a determined response when European leaders meet to
discuss the Georgia crisis on Monday.
The EU meeting in Brussels will debate the bloc's response
to Russia's military intervention and its decision to recognise
South Ossetia and Georgia's other breakaway region, Abkhazia, as
independent states.
The Russian incursion has raised fears in the West that an
important oil pipeline from the Caspian Sea to the Turkish
Mediterranean coast via Georgia could come under Russian
control.
Reduce dependency on Russia
Brown said he would press European leaders to increase
funding to allow EU nations to source energy from the Caspian,
reducing dependency on Russia.
"No nation can be allowed to exert an energy stranglehold
over Europe," the Observer quoted Brown as saying in a
front-page story.
In his article, Brown said: "Without urgent action, we risk
sleepwalking into an energy dependence on less stable or
reliable partners."
Russia must play by the rules if it wants to enjoy the
benefits of bodies such as the Group of Eight, the Organisation
for Economic Cooperation and Development and the World Trade
Organisation, Brown said.
"And, in the light of Russian actions, the EU should review
- root and branch - our relationship with Russia," he said.
It may be necessary to exclude Russia when the other G8
nations meet, and Nato's relationship with Moscow must be
re-evaluated, Brown said, pledging intensified Western support
for Georgia and "others who may face Russian aggression".