Britain Hits Back At Russia As G8 Tension Escalates
Tensions between Tony Blair and Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, over human rights and energy security surfaced yesterday as the Prime Minister prepared to fly out to this weekend's G8 summit in St Petersburg.

Downing Street offered a robust response after Mr Putin criticised Anthony Brenton, Britain's ambassador to Moscow, for interfering in Russia's "internal" affairs by attending an opposition conference.

The Prime Minister's spokesman said that Mr Brenton had made clear he was not attempting to intervene in domestic Russian politics.

Asked if Mr Blair had worries about human rights in Putin's Russia, he added: "We have concerns and we have voiced those concerns and expressed concerns about certain aspects of the media."

The spokesman said Mr Blair would raise the issue again in St Petersburg, stressing that Mr Putin had put a discussion about Russia on the summit agenda.

There were also conflicting messages from London and Moscow on the crucial issue of energy security, which is top of Mr Putin's agenda this weekend, when he will host his first summit of the world's most powerful economies.

There is growing concern in Number 10 that the decline in North Sea oil reserves over the next couple of decades will leave Britain dangerously dependent on imported gas from Russia.

The Government responded with an energy review earlier this week that spelt out plans for a new generation of nuclear power stations and an expansion of renewables, including wind, wave and tidal power, to help close the energy gap.

However, a senior Russian official voiced unease about such an approach earlier this week. He argued that Mr Putin believed energy security needed to be built on "interdependence", an approach in which Britain and other EU countries would rely increasingly on Russian gas.

The official criticised those who argued that true energy security depended on each country trying to produce more of its own energy. "Independence means people will behave egotistically," he argued.

However, the Prime Minister's spokesman defended Britain's stance. Asked about the Russian argument on interdependence, he said: "I do not think it's surprising that a supplier wants to maximise supply. But it's not surprising that countries like ourselves look at it from our national interest."

He added that relying on gas would lead to an increase in carbon emissions and worsen global warming. "Part of the reason for nuclear being part of the energy mix is also to do with climate change," he said.