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Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum 2014

Russia concerned about radicals’ threats to hamper gas transit

"We hope common sense prevails, and this will not happen", said Vladimir Putin

© ITAR TASS / Stanislav Krasilnikov

ST. PETERSBURG, May 24, /ITAR-TASS/. Russia is concerned about the Ukrainian radicals’ threats to hamper gas transit and hopes common sense will prevail in Kiev, said Russian president Vladimir Putin.

“We are seriously concerned about the Ukrainian radicals’ statements and direct threats to hinder gas transit to Europe. We hope common sense prevails, and this will not happen,” the president said at the oil and gas session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called on the participants of the summit of the energy companies to work out an international format on the resolution of issues concerning the regulation of energy markets.

“We believe that the current system of regulation and coordination of efforts in the energy sphere to be neither sufficient nor perfect,” Putin said addressing the summit, held on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in St. Petersburg on May 22-24.

“In many cases the regulation distorts signals from the market leading to an unjustified subsidization of the so-called favorite sources of energy and such situation is detrimental to principles of competitiveness,” Putin said.

Prices for the Russian natural gas remain competitive despite US plans for the shale gas production, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday.

“Russia will not make unscrupulous use of energy prices in Asian and European markets,” he said

Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that Russia’s natural gas prices for Europe were fair adding that it was not in the least important way that prices for the long-term gas contracts were also predictable.

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