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UK's Brown: Europe must act together on Russia

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-08-31 20:11

LONDON  -- European countries should adopt a united energy policy to avoid becoming too dependent on Russia, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said in an article published Sunday.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (C) and his Tajik counterpart Imomali Rakhmon (R) visit the 201st Russian military base in Dushanbe August 29, 2008. [Agencies]

Brown said European Union nations should "use our collective bargaining power rather than seek separate energy deals with Russia."

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"Without urgent action we risk sleepwalking into an energy dependance on less stable or reliable partners," Brown wrote in The Observer newspaper.

Russia's military campaign against neighbor Georgia this month -- and its continuing presence there  -- has alarmed European leaders with the prospect of a newly assertive Moscow. Russia supplies the EU with about a third of its oil and about two-fifths of its natural gas, and can literally turn off the tap if it chooses.

Brown said Europe should turn to other oil and gas suppliers and consider a pipeline to take gas from the Caspian Sea through Turkey, "reducing our dependence on Russia."

Brown said he spoke to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev by telephone Saturday, and told the Russian leader "to expect a determined European response" to the crisis.

The 27 EU leaders are due to meet Monday in Brussels to discuss how to respond to the war, and to Russia's subsequent recognition of the independence of two breakaway regions of Georgia.

Brown said the EU should review "root and branch" its relationship with Russia. He said "there can be no return to 'business as usual' until Russia commits fully to Georgia's territorial integrity and withdraws to its previous positions."