He recalled that gas supplies from Russia for export ensure not only the break-even operation of Gazprom, but also create financial conditions, including for the implementation of gasification plans within the country.
“They not only ensure competitiveness, additional elements of competitiveness for our economy, with which our European partners do not always agree and try to put all kinds of sticks in our wheels, in my opinion, absolutely unreasonable,” Putin said at the plenary session of the forum “Russia is calling ! ".
Earlier, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak in an article for the Energy Policy magazine spoke about the interaction between Russia and the EU in the gas sector.
He noted that “despite the fact that in 2014 the energy dialogue was formally frozen at the initiative of the EU, the Gas Advisory Council continues its work, within the framework of which the volume of Russian gas production, the demand for natural gas in the European market is assessed, and recommendations for long-term cooperation are being drawn up. Russia and the EU in the Gas Sector ”.
“As we can see today, the EU countries are interested in the supply of Russian“ blue fuel ”. We were convinced of this once again, in particular, by the unprecedented support of our European partners for our joint project of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline,” the minister said.
Novak said that "it is already obvious to everyone that this is a commercial project, which, at the same time, does not in any way affect the gas supply route through Ukraine, which, according to the agreements reached at the end of 2019, is successfully continuing until at least 2024."