DAVOS, Switzerland, January 23 (Itar-Tass) — Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev declined to say in an interview with Bloomberg television straightforwardly if he believes in the possibility of renouncing the monopoly role played by the natural gas industry giant, OAO Gazprom.
“If this should be done, we should do a minute forecasting of all the aftermaths of the move,” Medvedev said. “This is possible in theory because we have independent suppliers of natural gas now but we mustn’t lose money.”
“That’s the main thing,” he said. “Money’s standing above other concerns and the rest is just talking.”
Medvedev recalled along with it that Gazprom is the largest supplier of natural gas, “which acts absolutely precisely on all of its contract commitments.”
“I think that’s very important for the European customers,” he said. “Its conduct is clear and predictable.”
Simultaneously with this, Medvedev leveled sharp criticism at the EU’s Third Energy Package.
“It exerts a destructive impact on the existing ties – both for Russia and for Gazprom, and it implies a renunciation of the previously signed agreements and the restructuring of the opportunities available at present,” he said. “We believe this is tantamount to an encroachment on the effective agreements and we’ll continue detailed discussions with our partners on the issue.”