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Putin urges Gazprom to ensure gas supplies to Europe

Kruglov assured the prime minister that gas is supplied to Europe in the agreed-upon amounts and on schedule

MOSCOW, February 4 (Itar-Tass) —— Prime Minister Vladimir Putin urged Gazprom to ensure gas supplies to Europe in necessary amounts.

He met with Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin and Gazprom top executives Alexander Medvedev and Anbrei Kruglov on Saturday, February 4, to discuss the situation in the energy sector in general and gas supplies to Europe.

“I ask you to exert maximum effort in order to meet the needs of our foreign partners. But the main task for the energy sector in general and for Gazprom in particular is to meet domestic demand and the needs of domestic consumers in Russia,” Putin said.

Kruglov assured the prime minister that gas is supplied to Europe in the agreed-upon amounts and on schedule. “But we cannot provide extra amounts requested by our West European partners,” he added.

Putin asked why European countries were not taking these extra amounts on the spot market.

Medvedev said the spot market was “a considerable exaggeration” and cannot meet Europe’s needs.

“It is virtual to a large extent. I mean it offers no real product in needed amounts,” he said.

“It would not hurt to recall those who prevented us from building Nord Stream. Had they not, we would have a second extension running now and both would be filled. Gazprom would have opened up new fields for them, including the Bovanenkovskoye one, it would have worked more intensively at Shtokman, and I am sure no such problems would have arisen,” Putin said.

He expressed hope that work on Nord Stream would be completed and work on another problem, South Stream, would go faster. “It is obvious today that these are absolutely needed projects,” the prime minister said.