G7 to Begin Reducing Russian Energy Dependency

 A process to reduce the biggest industrialised countries' dependence on Russian gas has begun to prevent Russian President Vladimir Putin using it as a weapon, the UK energy secretary said on Tuesday at a G7 meeting to discuss energy security.
 

"We have taken a strategic decision and will face up to the use by Russia of energy as a weapon. Putin has crossed a line," British Energy Secretary Ed Davey said on the margins of the meeting in Rome.
 

"It will take some time to reduce our energy dependency on Russia but a significant process has been started... We must disarm the Russian energy weapon by reducing our dependency."

Davey said the group of energy ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States had agreed to respond with unity and resolve towards the dispute over Ukraine. Russia supplies around a third of Europe's gas, some 40 percent of which it ships through Ukraine.

(Reporting by Naomi O'Leary)