国际英语新闻:U.S. VP urges Europe to diversify energy sources for security

ISTANBUL, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said here on Saturday that the European countries must diversify their energy resources in order to obtain energy security especially in face of Russian energy threat.

"Russia has been using energy as a weapon threatening the nations' security. Of course Russia will continue to be an important gas supplier in the near future but European countries must secure their energy demands," Biden said.

Biden made this statement at the Atlantic Council of Energy and Economy summit in Istanbul while addressing to more than 300 international political leaders and energy experts.

He highlighted that energy security is the precondition of a country's stability and prosperity, and also praised European countries for possessing a strong diplomacy of energy policies and conducting close cooperation with especially Baltic countries in creating alternative sources of energy.

He also said that reaching diversified energy resources needs infrastructure projects. "We should admit that these projects requires long time to be realized and they are expensive. In that case the international cooperation and strong leadership is needed. .. European countries shouldn't take bilateral actions and must cooperate to secure their energy demands."

Meanwhile, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu also stressed the importance of energy security, saying that Turkey would take all the necessary preconditions during Ankara's presidency of the G20 in order to secure the fair distribution of energy in the world.

"Turkey is aware that energy security is the foundation of democratic societies," he said, adding that Turkey is seeking ways to create an energy route in the country, which aims to build itself into an international energy hub.

Biden arrived in Istanbul after his trips to Morocco and Ukraine on Friday. He is to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for a working lunch at the Beylerbeyi Palace in Istanbul on Saturday.