Speaking to journalists on Monday, Mr. Khristenko said that by the middle of June a joint report on the progress of the dialog would be submitted to the Russian and US Presidents. Before that, a working group headed by deputy ministers will meet in Washington.
At the talks the two officials discussed infrastructure projects to develop pipeline transportation and issues related to changes in the Russian mining legislation, Mr. Khristenko said.
Elaborating on several projects, he mentioned the project of an eastern pipeline designed to develop the East Siberian regions and "to remove infrastructure risks for investors."
The pipeline with a capacity of 80 mln tons is expected to ensure Russian oil supplies to the Asian-Pacific markets and will start in Taishet, the Irkutsk region, Siberia.
As to the northern pipeline, it is designed to remove infrastructure risks for developing the fields in the Timano-Pechora region, the Russian minister said. According to preliminary estimates, it will run from Kharyaga to Indiga, with the mooring facility entering the sea in order to ensure loading of large-capacity tankers to deliver oil to the North American coast. The project is estimated at $2-2.5 bln, the minister added.
Russia hopes that financial institutions will offer credit support to the Russian pipeline operator, Transneft, in the eastern and northern pipeline projects, he said.
When speaking about the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, he said that Russia was a minority shareholder in the project and that "our logic is not the logic of a state, but that of a business partner, who hopes to get an efficient project with good returns for its 24%."
"We have more than a regular dialog with the project's participants and we will do our best to make it efficient," he underlined.
Commenting on the new Russian mining legislation, he said that "legal certainty removes more risks than loopholes in the law."
