MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Power of Siberia pipeline is expected to deliver 38 billion cubic meters of gas to China annually.
"The European market is of crucial importance to us. We’ve been selling gas to Europe for decades; we have never failed to meet our obligations, and we’d like to continue to supply gas to Europe in large volumes," Medvedev said in an interview with Slovenian radio and television company RTV Slovenija on the eve of his visit to Slovenia.
Medvedev stressed that Moscow is equally dependent on energy from Europe, since Europe is the main market for Russian gas.
"They often claim that poor old Europe depends on Russia too much. Let’s be clear: Russia also depends on Europe to the same extent. If we supply gas and invest billions of dollars in our deposits and pipelines, we are depending on Europe to buy our gas, just as Europe depends on gas from Russia. These are mutual investments," the prime minister said.
According to Medvedev, this dependence does not, however, exclude Russia’s gas cooperation with other countries.
"But this doesn’t mean we won’t supply gas to other locations. In May 2014, Russian Gazprom and the China National Petroleum Corporation [CNPC] signed a thirty-year contract for the supply of natural gas through the Power of Siberia pipeline," the prime minister specified.
Russia started building its branch of the 2,500-mile pipeline last year. It estimates that the line’s gas-transmission system (GTS) will go on-stream in late 2017. The total cost of gas production and transmission facilities in Russia is estimated to be $55 billion.
