operation in energy. The US and Canada did not sign, while Russia, Australia, Belarus, Iceland and Norway are yet to ratify. Deputy Russian foreign minister Alexandr Yakovenko said in Moscow that Russia was seeking to diversify its energy systems, with new transport routes such as the Baltic Sea gas pipeline to Germany and a proposed oil platform in the Pacific part of this plan. "We are extremely interested in cooperation with the G8 nations in the nuclear energy sector," Yakovenko said, adding that his ministry had already worked on a draft declaration on energy security for the July G8 summit. Barroso and Putin also used their informal meeting to discuss deeper political cooperation between Russia and the EU. The current foundation of their bilateral relations, a partnership agreement signed in 1997, is due to expire next year. --SP 21 39 Local Time 18 39 GMT
