MOSCOW: The Group of Eight on Sunday vowed to promote "free, competitive and open" energy markets as an essential way to enhance global energy security.

A statement on "Global Energy Security" adopted at the G-8 summit in St. Petersburg struck a compromise between the Western energy importing nations and Russia as the world's biggest energy producer. While the West demanded free access to Russian energy resources, Russia called for a similar access to energy distribution assets in Europe and the United States.

"It is especially important that companies from energy producing and consuming countries can invest in and acquire upstream and downstream assets internationally in a mutually beneficial way and respecting competition rules to improve the global efficiency of energy production and consumption," the statement said.

However, the leaders failed to agree on nuclear energy as an alternative to fossil fuels and on climate protection.

With Germany opposed to wider use of nuclear energy and the U.S. refusing to sign the Kyoto Protocol on fighting greenhouse gas emissions, the nations said in a statement, "G-8 members pursue different ways to achieve energy security and the goals of climate protection. Those of us who have or are considering plans relating to the use and/or development of safe and secure nuclear energy believe that its development will contribute to global energy security, while simultaneously reducing harmful air pollution and addressing the climate change challenge". The section on climate change said "those of us committed to making the Kyoto Protocol a success underline the importance we attach to it."

The G-8 members were unanimous in backing Russian plans to create international centres to produce nuclear fuel for countries with atomic power plants and a U.S. plan to create a multilateral nuclear fuel bank.

"We intend to make additional joint efforts to ensure reliable access to low enriched uranium for power reactor fuel and spent fuel recycling," the G-8 said in the Global Energy Security statement.

The leaders also adopted a statement on fighting infectious diseases and on providing freer access to education.

Accord on subsidy

The leaders also promised to reduce agricultural export subsidies to facilitate a successful conclusion of the Doha trade round by the end of 2006.

Expressing "regret" over the failure of the Geneva talks on June 30-July 1, they committed themselves "to substantial improvement in market access for trade in both agricultural and industrial products and to expanding opportunities for trade in services." The Western nations' refusal to cut back trade-distorting subsidies and agriculture tariffs deadlocked the Doha round. The issue is bound to be raised by India and other outreach countries invited to the G-8 summit.

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