Putin vows to smooth energy deliveries - Yahoo! News

SOCHI, Russia - Russian President
Vladimir Putin' name=c1> SEARCHNews News Photos Images Web' name=c3> Vladimir Putin on Sunday pledged to reduce Russia's dependence on transit countries to ensure smooth energy deliveries and said his country would insist on playing by market rules in the energy sphere.
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who met with Putin in his residence in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, stressed Russia's importance as an energy provider to Europe and called for "irritations" in supplies to be avoided.
"We will in the most active way possible develop our transport network in order to have the opportunity to deliver our resources to our main consumers directly," Putin said at the end of talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Putin's statement appeared to be in response to European concerns about Russia's reliability as an energy supplier, which were underscored by a three-day cutoff beginning Jan. 8 of the Druzhba pipeline carrying Russian oil through Belarus due to a dispute between the two Slavic neighbors.
Though the brief shutdown did not threaten Germany's supplies, Merkel noted at the end of talks with Putin that "there were irritations at the beginning of the year" that should be avoided in the future.
Russia's reputation had also been damaged by last year's price dispute with Ukraine and temporary shortages of Russian gas to European customers.
Putin said Russia would expand its transport network by speeding up work on constructing a gas pipeline to Germany which goes under the Baltic Sea, bypassing Poland, as well as building on oil pipeline leading to Russia's Pacific Coast.
The Russian leader also insisted on establishing transparent market rules with all its partners — European consumers as well as ex-Soviet republics who buy and transport Russian oil and gas.
"We will be building relations with all our partners — both transit states and consumers of hydrocarbons on an equal, understandable and transparent basis," Putin said. "Yes to partnership ... but no to free-riding."
Putin later told Russian reporters that Russia was also offering to construct a gas reservoir in Germany in order to guarantee energy security on the continent and that it could also consider building a branch of the underwater pipeline to Poland and Sweden, the Interfax news agency reported.
Merkel said she understood that Russia wanted to sell its energy resources to ex-Soviet neighbors like Belarus on market conditions, but stressed that "we need reliability."
She also said that both Europe and Russia were dependent on each other as consumers and suppliers of energy "in a good sense" and called for establishing that special partnership in the planned new cooperation agreement between Russia and the EU.
Russia supplies about a quarter of Europe's gas needs and about a third of Germany's.
Turning to international issues, Putin and Merkel stressed a diplomatic solution to
Iran' name=c1> SEARCHNews News Photos Images Web' name=c3> Iran's nuclear problem and expressed hope that the upcoming meeting of "Quartet" of the EU, Russia, the U.N. and the U.S. in Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts which will be held in Washington, likely Feb. 2, will advance the peace process.
Touching on the problem of Serbia's breakaway province of
Kosovo' name=c1> SEARCHNews News Photos Images Web' name=c3> Kosovo, highlighted by today's parliamentary elections in Serbia, Putin said that a solution should "not be imposed from outside," saying it should satisfy both sides in the conflict.
Putin also reiterated Russia's position that a decision on Kosovo's status will serve as precedent for other nations with similar cases, including several breakaway provinces in the ex-Soviet Union. The Kremlin has hinted that were Kosovo to gain independence, two pro-Russian rebel regions in Georgia and a breakaway province in Moldova, which enjoy Moscow's tacit support, could follow suit.