MOSCOW, January 12 (RIA Novosti) - The natural gas dispute between Russia and Ukraine is over, and suggestions that Russia was attempting to use the issue to put political pressure on the EU were groundless, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister and Gazprom Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said Thursday.
"Russia has been, is, and will be, a reliable supplier of gas to Europe," he said.
"All disputed issues [between Russia and Ukraine] have been settled on the basis of mutually advantageous principles and in the spirit of good-neighborly relations," Medvedev said.
"I regard the successful completion of the talks as [evidence of] the two countries' striving to develop strategic cooperation... and to ensure stable energy suppliers to European consumers," he added.
Russia turned off gas supplies to Ukraine January 1, after gas price negotiations between the two countries broke down. The move caused a drop in supplies to some European countries, including Poland, Austria and Hungary.
