Lugar told journalists after a meeting with Georgia's Prime Minister Zurab Nogaideli that the South Caucasus country should find an alternative to natural gas supplies from Russia. He said gas supplies from Azerbaijan could be increased, but admitted Georgia would still partly depend on Russian natural gas.
Georgia has previously accused Russia of using its vast energy resources to hold the country to ransom - a charge that Moscow has consistently rejected - and President Mikheil Saakashvili said it was "not a reliable partner" after a massive blackout hit Tbilisi in January.
Nogaideli said the U.S. Congress was developing new energy laws, which in particular touched upon U.S. assistance to his country in energy independence.
The two officials also discussed U.S. support for the resolution of two "frozen" conflicts in Georgia dating back to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the country's integration into NATO.
Nogaideli added that reforms in Georgia and projects under the Millennium Challenge Account program, a U.S. supplemental assistance program for countries pursuing free-market reform, in 2007 had also been discussed.
