Senator Lugar Continues Energy Security Mission

In the aftermath of Russia’s incursion into Georgia, Senator Lugar is embarking on a two-week, nine-nation mission that focuses on the trans-Atlantic alliance’s energy security. He will meet with officials in France, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Romania, Ukraine, Germany, and at NATO and EU headquarters in Brussels.

• August 24: Senator Lugar oversees relief in Georgia
  • Photos (including hi-res photos)
• August 28: Senator Lugar Calls for European Leaders to Act on Energy Security
• September 2: Senator Lugar to Europeans: Biotech Breakthroughs Critical to Feeding World
• September 3: Lugar Endorses Georgia Aid Package

Senator Lugar oversees humanitarian assistance being unloaded from a U.S. C-17 at the Tbilisi Airport

"It is time for the trans-Atlantic community to establish a credible energy security strategy that diversifies energy sources for all Europe, establishes a collective framework to work with Russia, and refuses to tolerate the use of energy as an instrument of coercion," Senator Lugar said at a speech in April. "The absence of a collective energy security strategy will lead to greater fragmentation among European nations and across the Atlantic.  This fragmentation will not be exclusive to energy policy; it may also detrimentally impact our ability to act upon shared security and economic issues."

On August 23 he will meet with the International Energy Agency in Paris. He is also attending an U.S. policy conference on Islam governance and ideology.

Senator Lugar then travels to Georgia on August 23-24 for official meetings and oversight of humanitarian assistance. He will have official meetings in Baku, Azerbaijan on August 25 followed by meetings with government leaders and energy pipeline officials in Ankara, Turkey on August 26.

Visiting U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, speaks at a news conference in Tbilisi, Georgia, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2008. The conflict between Russia and Georgia, a small ex-Soviet republic whose pro-Western leaders have tried to shed Moscow's influence and sought NATO membership, has brought Russian-U.S. relations to a post-Cold War low. (AP Photo/Shakh Aivazov)

On August 27-29 he will follow the proposed Nabucco Pipeline route and hold meetings in Bucharest, Romania. Senator Lugar will meet with Ukrainian leaders in Kyiv on security, energy and agricultural issues August 30-31.

Senator Lugar will discuss energy, security, climate and agricultural issues with German officials in Berlin on September 1-2 and have meetings in Brussels with EU and NATO officials on September 3-4. Discussions will include Georgia, energy, the Atlantic alliance, climate change and genetically modified seeds.

At a speech in July, Senator Lugar said, "The fear of GM crops has been most prevalent in Europe.  Many developing countries, especially in Africa, worry that if they adopt GM crops, they will not be able to export to Europe. The governments and people of Europe must understand that their opposition to safe GM technology contributes to hunger in Africa."

In a July 2 speech, Senator Lugar noted that Ukraine’s agricultural production was now roughly half of what it had at the end of the Stalinist era. "Ukraine, some agronomists believe, could supply roughly one-seventh of all the food on Earth.  The possibilities are that great, and this is why the depletion of those resources is so severe, if you're looking at a world food crisis problem," he said.

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