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West must stop relying on Russian energy, says Brown
Paul Waugh, Deputy Political Editor1 Sep 2008
Europe should wean itself off Russian oil and gas and suspend its future relations with Moscow, Gordon Brown urged today.
As the EU held an emergency meeting on the conflict in Georgia, Mr Brown said it was time for a "root and branch" review of all links to the Kremlin.
Germany and other states were wary of imposing economic sanctions, but Mr Brown called for tough action. The Prime Minister's spokesman said: "What has happened in the last month has strengthened the argument not only for diversification away from gas and oil but also away from Russian oil and gas." The EU gets about a quarter of its natural gas from Russia.
Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov made it clear Moscow wants Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili out of power. "If instead of choosing their national interests and the interests of the Georgian people, the US and its allies choose the Saakashvili regime, this will be a mistake of truly historic proportions," he said.
"It would be right to impose an embargo on weapons to this regime, until different authorities turn Georgia into a normal state," he said in a speech at Russia's leading foreign policy graduate school." Mr Saakashvili urged EU leaders not to "give up, faced with [ Russia's] dirty attempt at aggression".
Russian president Dmitri Medvedev has declared that his country will continue to protect "regions of privileged interest" and would hit back against any sanctions. Moscow's ambassador to London, Yuri Fedotov, said sanctions would "hurt" Europe more than Russia.
David Cameron said it was time to think about suspending Russia from the G8 group of leading nations and halting the strategic partnership between the EU and Russia. EU leaders are expected to warn Russia there cannot be business as usual after its actions but the Paris summit will fall short of calling for sanctions because of divisions between the 27 member states.
Russia's war with Georgia began on 7 August when Georgia tried to regain control of its breakaway South Ossetia province by force and Russia counterattacked.
Reader views (3)
That's rich coming from the king of all ditherers and his dysfunctional party which has been this away and that over energy replacement in this country for years and putting us all in the dark sometime in the near future. Brown will have to spin harder than that if he wants to get re-elected to the job he stole in the first place. Beware, in the next few weeks when we will be bombarded with sore of garbage from him, all paid for by us the financially bankrupted voters.
- Albert Hall, Hove England, 01/09/2008 17:30
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Statesmen have to deal with the world as it is: Russia has always been tyrannical and thuggish, but is actually less of either now than ever before (which may not be saying much), and has legitimate fears of encirclement which make Mr Brown's student common-room grandstanding look pitifully inadequate.
He also has to explain who presided over the 'dash for gas' a decade ago, which burnt up our own reserves at 30% efficiency in power stations, instead of at 100% efficiency in homes and factories; and who sold Westinghouse to Japan, and tried to sell British Energy to France, at a time when the world is turning back to nuclear power with urgency?
It's as if Neville Chamberlain had sold Rolls Royce and Hawker Siddeley to Germany in 1937.
Insofar as we vote for our governments, our coming energy and economic crisis is entirely self-inflicted.We still waste a huge proportion of what we consume.
- Mdj, Leyton, e10 london, 01/09/2008 15:14
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Mr Brown is clearly trying to divert public attention away from the dire economic mess he's made of this country by stirring up a diplomatic incident with Russia. This is despicable and (characteristically) cowardly. I only hope the French and Germans have the good sense to tell him to shut up.
- Mark, London, 01/09/2008 15:06
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