MOSCOW, May 15 (RIA Novosti) – Russia needs predictable rules of the game in the energy market that are not dependent on politics, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Thursday.
“We want predictable rules of the game on the energy market that won’t change unilaterally and won’t depend on political speculations, and which won’t depend on which administration is working where,” Medvedev said during the 14th ministerial meeting of the International Energy Forum.
Russia wants its energy partners to understand that they need to pay for resource supplies, the Russian prime minister told the meeting.
“You need to pay for supplied energy resources … Payments should in no way be linked to politics,” Medvedev said, adding that he hopes all countries acknowledge the message, including Ukraine.
Although energy market participants have different views, everyone needs “an unbiased and independent assessment of the possible consequences of those decisions targeting the vital energy sphere,” he said.
The Russian prime minister said a joint early warning system should be established on sensitive international energy issues. The system should not affect the freedom of behavior for market participants, he added.
Last month, in a letter addressed to European leaders, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed concerns about possible disruptions of gas transit to Europe if Ukraine fails to meet its obligations and pay off its gas debt to Gazprom, which currently stands at $3.5 billion.
Gazprom earlier said it would stop deliveries of natural gas to Ukraine if Kiev failed to pre-pay by June 2. The company also voiced concerns that Naftogaz could fail to fulfill its commitments on gas transit, siphoning off gas destined for European consumers.
