“We cannot demand that the EU should waive its third energy package. However, we urge to take note of our arguments. And success in amending certain provisions of this package, including the terms of gas supply across the EU territory, participation of our companies in the creation of holding companies, vertically integrated companies (without affecting the interests of individual consumers, of course) , would ease our concerns about long-term cooperation, which we are much interested in,” he said in an interview to the Verslo Zinios business daily.
The opinion that shale gas would be a disaster for Russia’s economy was wrong, Medvedev said.
“We don’t know how it will end eventually: production costs are still rather high, the risks of potential poisoning of the environment in a large territory due to the use of this technology are still high. The technologies will improve, yet there are risks that cannot be assessed now. I understand that hydrocarbons are not the most popular type of fuel today, but in reality we have nothing more. Therefore, let’s communicate politely,” he said.
Medvedev admitted that a sudden fall in the price of gas would create serious problems for Russia’s economy. “Therefore, we will seek to change our export structure and stimulate demand on domestic market.”
