BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

24/11/2007

Europe needs new Energy Charter - German political analyst

MINSK. Nov 24 (Interfax) - The producers and consumers of energy resources in Europe need a new Energy Charter Treaty, a prominent German political analyst and a member of the German Foreign Policy Council (DGAP), Alexander Rahr, said.

"I know that there are very sensible politicians in Germany and Brussels, who want to discard the old Energy Charter Treaty, which focuses only on the interests of the Western countries consuming energy. What we need is to develop an Energy Charter that would outline the interests of energy producers, which includes not only Russia but also Turkmenistan or Kazakhstan. It should also take into account the interests of transit countries like Belarus and Ukraine," Rahr said in an interview broadcast by Belarusian television on Saturday.

"Russia's current position is not quite clear to me. I think Russia is seeking to subjugate other countries and write the rules of the game itself, something the West did in the 1990s," Rahr said.

However, he said "not everything will be so easy, because European energy markets are not as dependent on Russia as they might seem. The West has technology for producing alternative energy, and it could quickly revert to developing the nuclear power industry."

Europe would like "gas from former Soviet republics, including those in the Caspian region, to come to the European market in a diversified way and not be controlled solely by Russia," Rahr said.

"Sooner or later, new alternative routes will be built, through which oil and gas from the Caspian region will be pumped to Europe bypassing Russia," Rahr said.

"In connection with this, an important issue is Belarus, which is the key country transiting Russian gas. There is the only solution - not to argue and bicker, as was the case in 2007, but to seek agreement on common rules," he said.

"It seems to me that Russia understands itself that it needs the European markets and that it does not need to abuse its clients," Rahr said.

"Europe and Russia should eventually come to conclude a treaty," he said.

"However, if Russia sees the coming to power of forces unwilling to seek agreements in energy, then the European market will be closed, and Russia will be more oriented towards Asia," Rahr said.

"This will change the entire economic expanse, and this would do no good, particularly to Europe," he said.

Source:

http://www.interfax.com/3/339323/news.aspx