Sen. Lugar slams Russian energy policy

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- Europe should embrace all opportunities to move away from its dependence on Russia for its rising energy demands, U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., said Friday.

Lugar, who is in the Azeri capital, Baku, this week, said European leaders should move aggressively on energy security issues at a Sept. 1 meeting called by French President Nicolas Sarkozy on the ongoing crisis between Georgia and Russia, the Azeri-Press Agency said.

"The conflict in Georgia cannot be separated from Europe's dangerous dependence on natural gas from Russia," he said.

The Republican senator said pursuing rival pipeline projects, such as Nabucco, which skirt Russian territory is key to European energy security.

The Georgian conflict threatened oil supplies through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline and its main arteries.

"Nabucco is intended to be the final link connecting Caspian energy resources with European consumers, but it is being challenged by the Russian-backed alternatives," he said.

Lugar characterized Russian action in the region as a way to discourage former Soviet satellites from diversifying their energy policies.