Rice: US naming special energy envoy

WASHINGTON – Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday she will appoint a special envoy for energy issues to deal with the use of oil and gas for political means, particularly in Central Asia.

Her comments to a congressional committee come amid threats from Venezuela to cut off oil exports to the United States as well as several incidents in which Russia has or threatened to cut off gas supplies to some of its neighbors, most recently Ukraine.


“It is a really important part of diplomacy, in fact, I think I would go so far as to say that some of the politics of energy is warping diplomacy in certain parts of the world,” Rice told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

“I do intend to appoint, and we are looking for, a special energy coordinator who could especially spend time on the Central Asian and Caspian region,” she said. This person would also focus on increasing instability in world energy markets.

AP