July 12, 06

NEWS / Bush Tells Europe to Avoid Dependence of Russian Energy Resources

U.S. President George W. Bush has suggested European countries would be wise to diversify dependence on Russia??™s energy resources so they don??™t have to worry about supply, Canadian Press agency reported.

In a round table meeting with foreign journalists, which took place on Monday, July 10, Bush refused to be drawn directly into criticism that Russia is sliding on democratic reforms and intimidating Europeans with its vast supplies of oil and natural gas. ???I think each nation or each group of nations has to make their own national security calculations,??? said Bush, who??™s attending the Group of Eight meeting this week in Russia with Canada and other top industrialized countries.

But he pointed out that the United States is considering more nuclear power and spending billions on technological breakthroughs, including hydrogen research, so future presidents will be able to say: ???I no longer have to worry about a single source of supply, I no longer have to worry about disruption, I no longer have to worry about politics.???

???The world needs to go there, in my own judgment,??? he said.

???I view security as diversification away from a particular source of energy that may be the cause of the worry about insecurity in the first place,??? said Bush, who will have dinner and hold a bilateral meeting with President Vladimir Putin before the summit in St. Petersburg starts Saturday, July 15.