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President Ilves: Caspian Region provides an alternative to Russia for Europe’s energy supply

23.05.2008

“The European Union must speak about energy issues with one voice and act as a common target market—only then is it possible to resist the attempts of any country to use energy supplies to increase their political profile,” President Ilves said today at the energy-related summit meeting in Kiev.

“Nord Stream and South Stream, the new gas lines offered by Russia, are new supply channels, but do not help us to diversify our suppliers and thereby increase energy security,” President Ilves noted.

According to the President, the main alternative to Russia in guaranteeing the stability of the energy supply for Europe is supplies from the Caspian Region.

At today’s meeting, the Presidents of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine, Georgia, and Azerbaijan approved a declaration regarding the creation of an energy transit corridor between the Caspian Sea, Black Sea and Baltic Sea Regions.

“With today’s discussions in Kiev, we are taking a large step in the direction of guaranteeing energy security for Europe,” the Estonian Head of State affirmed.

According to President Ilves, energy-related cooperation must be based on the principles of the Energy Charter Treaty. “In energy trade, both supply and transit countries must also act according to good foreign trade practices and refrain from using it as a means of applying political pressure,” the President stressed.

In addition to the Presidents of the Baltic countries, Poland, Ukraine, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, the Kiev summit meeting was also attended by Andris Piebalgs, the European Commissioner for Energy, and representatives of the United States, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Romania and Slovakia.

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