Russian, American, European and Japanese officials are negotiating over whether Russia should be allowed greater freedom to invest in utilities, pipelines, natural gas facilities and other infrastructure in the United States and Europe.

In a draft declaration intended to be offered for endorsement at a Group of 8 summit meeting this summer in St. Petersburg, broadened Russian access is endorsed for approval as long as it is in accordance with market principles.

Paired with that principle in the summit meeting draft is something the West wants: greater access by foreign investors in Russia's energy industry, which has made Russia into one of the biggest oil and natural gas producers in the world.

The maneuvering in advance of the summit meeting comes at a time of rising prices, concern about future energy supplies and anxieties in the West over Russia's use of its energy industry to expand its political influence in its region and around the world.

In January, Russia cut off of natural gas shipments to Ukraine during a price dispute, shutting down deliveries in Europe. That move was seen as an effort to punish Ukraine, long dominated by Russia, for its political independence.

More recently, Vice President Dick Cheney and other senior U.S. officials have rebuked Russia for its increased state takeover of the energy sector, its crackdown of political dissent and what Americans say is an effort to muscle out Western investments in oil and gas pipelines in the Caspian Sea.