Europe can depend on Russia to maintain its supply of gas to the continent, Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov said here Friday, days after striking a gas price agreement with Ukraine, a key transit country.
"Russia is a reliable supplier and Russia will fulfill all its obligations in the future as well," Zubkov told a press conference alongside his Hungarian counterpart Ferenc Gyurcsany after a meeting.
Zubkov said Russia now had "no problems" with Belarus and Ukraine, two key transit countries for gas headed towards the European Union. Last year, price disputes between Moscow and those two countries caused supply disruptions.
The prime minister's comments came after Ukraine and Russia agreed on Tuesday on the price of gas for 2008.
Last year's dispute spurred European Union countries, who depend on Moscow for around a quarter of their gas supplies, to seek new suppliers and transit routes.
One such project is the Nabucco pipeline, which would carry gas from central Asia to Europe, circumventing Russia.
Gyurcsany, whom Brussels criticised earlier this year for his apparent lukewarm attitude towards Nabucco, argued Friday: "Hungary is among the countries in the European Union that is most reliant on Russian energy supplies."
But he added: "It is in Hungary's interest to diversify its supplies and supply routes."
Gyurcsany said the planned US anti-missile system in the Czech Republic and Poland, which Russia vehemently opposes, was not on the agenda of Friday's discussion.
"Russia is a reliable supplier and Russia will fulfill all its obligations in the future as well," Zubkov told a press conference alongside his Hungarian counterpart Ferenc Gyurcsany after a meeting.
Zubkov said Russia now had "no problems" with Belarus and Ukraine, two key transit countries for gas headed towards the European Union. Last year, price disputes between Moscow and those two countries caused supply disruptions.
The prime minister's comments came after Ukraine and Russia agreed on Tuesday on the price of gas for 2008.
Last year's dispute spurred European Union countries, who depend on Moscow for around a quarter of their gas supplies, to seek new suppliers and transit routes.
One such project is the Nabucco pipeline, which would carry gas from central Asia to Europe, circumventing Russia.
Gyurcsany, whom Brussels criticised earlier this year for his apparent lukewarm attitude towards Nabucco, argued Friday: "Hungary is among the countries in the European Union that is most reliant on Russian energy supplies."
But he added: "It is in Hungary's interest to diversify its supplies and supply routes."
Gyurcsany said the planned US anti-missile system in the Czech Republic and Poland, which Russia vehemently opposes, was not on the agenda of Friday's discussion.
Via: AFP
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