(RIA Novosti) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday he was surprised that Germany and other European countries did not see the benefits of diversifying transportation routes for supplies of Russian natural gas to Europe.
Russia has been criticized for allegedly using its vast energy sources as a means to blackmail its neighbors and Europe. The charges came after energy giant Gazprom briefly cut supplies to Ukraine in early 2006 in a pricing dispute and then threatened to look to eastern markets if its plans in Europe were blocked, reports Trend.
In an interview with the German CDF television channel ahead of the Group of Eight summit in St. Petersburg, Putin said Germany depended on gas supplies from Russia as much as Russia depended on its consumers in Germany.
"It is a mutual dependency that will create normal relations on global energy markets and in the political sphere in the historical perspective," Putin said, adding that diversification of energy transportation routes directly benefited German and other European consumers.
Germany and Russia have started the construction of the North European Gas Pipeline, which will eventually lead to Russian natural gas being pumped directly to Germany across the floor of the Baltic Sea.
"Why would you want to always depend on our transit agreements with Ukraine, or Belarus, or Poland?" he said.
"I was shocked, simply shocked by the fact that [politicians] in Germany, or other European countries could not see their own interests," Putin said.
The president said Russia had drastically changed the rules on the European energy supply market by concluding two separate five-year contracts with Ukraine on gas supplies to the country's domestic market and the transit of Russian gas through its territory to European consumers.
"We should applaud such a decision and thank [Ukrainian] President [Viktor] Yushchenko for making this decision rather than speculating on these issues," Putin said referring to agreements reached between Russia and Ukraine in the wake of a bitter dispute that broke out last winter as Russia's neighbor refused to pay increased prices for natural gas, which led to energy giant Gazprom briefly turning off the taps in January.
"We have agreed to separate these issues," Putin said during a Web cast on July 6. "No matter what agreements we have with Ukraine, if Ukraine fulfills its commitments, it will have to provide the transit of Russian gas to the European consumers for a long time."
The president said this approach would ensure the energy security of the European economy and households.
"These decisions improve the conditions of [natural gas] supplies to our consumers in Europe," Putin said, adding that the discussion of Russia's position on this issue at the G8 meeting would help finding common solutions for energy security concerns.
The leaders of the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Italy, Germany, Canada and France will be joining Putin for Russia's debut G8 summit in Russia's second largest city on July 15-17.