ALMATY, Kazakhstan (AP) - An international human rights watchdog has accused the European Union of ignoring rights abuses in energy-rich Turkmenistan in the hope of securing future natural gas supplies.

British-based Global Witness said in a report issued Tuesday the EU should demand that Turkmenistan respect international conventions on human rights and corruption.

The group says the EU is misguided in pinning its hopes on Turkmenistan as a potential alternative gas supplier to Russia.

Turkmenistan is believed to sit on the world’s fourth-largest gas reserves and has been assiduously courted by the West, Russia and China.