Russia suggests creating a new legal basis for international energy cooperation

Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev has said in Helsinki, in the framework of his state visit to Finland that Russia suggests creating a new legal basis or international energy cooperation and puts forward a draft proposal to that end.

Finland, he said, will be the first of the nations, interested in active cooperation on the world energy market, to have received the draft document. Russia will then offer the draft to other countries and international organizations for consideration and discussion. When, during a press conference in Helsinki, Russia’s presidential assistant Arcady Dvorkovich elaborated on the objectives, set forth in the new document, he said that Russia wants relations to be built on transparent, understandable, reliable and stable principles that would satisfy all parties to the process, whether energy consumers, or producers or transit nations. Today energy-related agreements fail to meet modern-day realities and the situation that’s taken shape. The European Union, its legal base and composition have changed since the Energy Charter was signed. May principles that are perfectly operational inside the EU are out of line with the Charter’s provisions and Charter-related agreements. The contradiction can be removed only by signing a new agreement. However, these documents have failed to cover, for example, nuclear materials, despite numerous discussions and even pledges to that end. But this is an issue of paramount importance to Russia. We believe that the very same principles should be extended to nuclear resources as a special segment of power production. The only way to resolve the problem is to conclude a new relevant agreement. We are open for dialogue on any legal form of such document.

Russia has always made it clear that it is discontent with the Energy Charter that fails to meet the realities of a fast-changing world. Glaring evidence of this are the lessons taught by the so-called transit crisis early this year. The Charter lacks many important players on today’s world energy market, such as the USA, Canada, China, India and Norway. Russia feels therefore that talks on a new agreement should be held in a broader format.

The objective today is to preserve and secure for the years to come the balance of interests of energy resource producer nations, transit countries and energy consuming states. This is what Russia is after when proposing the creation of a new legal basis for international energy cooperation. Russia’s objective is to cement comprehensive energy security of both the European continent and the world at large.

Source:The Voice of Russia