Russian gas giant Gazprom said Wednesday it would reduce natural gas deliveries to Belarus by 45% from August 3 over outstanding payments, adding that Europe-bound supplies would not be affected.

Europe needs reliable energy supplies for the future and Russia can fill the bill -- but the European Union would nevertheless be wise to seek alternatives. That was the general consensus of top international experts assembled at the Global Energy Leaders Summit organized this week in London by the "Financial Times" newspaper.

Leading U.S. and Georgian officials are issuing fresh warnings about the dangers to Europe of relying too heavily on energy supplies controlled by Russia. The warnings follow an agreement between Russia and resource-rich Central Asian states Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to build a new pipeline to carry natural gas to Europe via Russia.

Specialists from the International Energy Agency and Oxford University Monday told a Washington forum that despite European Union efforts to diversify sources, Russia's Gazprom is likely to retain its dominant position in supplying gas to Western Europe. VOA's Barry Wood reports.

The European Union's energy commissioner, Andris Piebalgs, says Georgia is an important transit link in EU ambitions to increase oil and gas imports from Central Asia and Azerbaijan.

EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson is set today to warn that EU-Russia relations could go very wrong unless there are clearer rules governing the global energy trade.

Five southeastern European countries have agreed to start work on a 1,400-kilometer Pan-European Oil Pipeline (PEOP), estimated to cost between $2 billion and $3.5 billion. The pipeline would connect Romania's Black Sea port of Constanta with Trieste in Italy.

The European Union has said diversifying energy supplies and transit routes is one of its most urgent priorities. However, analysts say the EU needs to act fast if it wants to secure direct access to Central Asian oil and gas -- and warn that Russia is purposely attempting to undermine some of the EU's key initiatives.

Three meetings. Three cities. One goal: making Europe less dependent on Russian energy. On March 22, Azerbaijan's foreign minister was in Washington, Georgia's prime minister was in Turkmenistan's capital Ashgabat, and a major energy conference opened in the Georgian capital Tbilisi.

The European Union craves energy, but not to the extent that it wants to see members break rank to secure it. And that is exactly what Hungary is being accused of doing.