KHABAROVSK, February 26, 2004 (RIA Novosti) - President Vladimir Putin supported the proposal of the president of the RZHD joint stock company (Russian railroad company) to examine the possibility using the Baikal-Amur Railroad (BAM) to construct an oil pipeline in China.
"The use of a railroad to deliver oil abroad, into China, is a good proposal," said Mr. Putin at a conference on the development of the transport infrastructure of the Far East and Transbaikal.
"And this possibility must be taken into account before a final decision on the 'pipe' is made," said the president.
Gennady Fadeyev, the head of RZHD, told journalists that this would be a very important decision for the Far East. "This would make it possible to preserve personnel in the Far East," he said.