SLOVAKIA is the second most important country for the Russian gas company Gazprom, the head of the company’s contract and price-setting department, Sergei L. Komlev, told a conference in Bratislava. At the conference, entitled EU Common Energy Policy and Slovak Energy Security, Komlev said that Slovakia is a reliable trading partner for the Russian gas giant and an important partner for transit of natural gas to western countries of the European Union (EU). Komlev did not specify which country is more important for Gazprom than Slovakia, the SITA newswire reported on October 27.
“Concerning gas prices, we provide the best conditions to Eastern-European countries,” said Komlev, in connection with Gazprom’s pricing policy. He said that Gazprom rejects political myths that the Russian company represent a threat to the EU’s energy security. “There is no reason to perceive Gazprom as a threat to Europe. Political myths harm our reputation. Rather the opposite is true: Gazprom represents a cornerstone of energy security for the EU,” stated Komlev.
EU countries have no reasons to worry that Gazprom would suspend gas supplies, or link political threats to gas supplies, he said. “We do not intend to halt gas supplies in the middle of winter, as some rumours suggest. We behave as a normal business entity and we will not misuse our position,” Komlev stated, stressing that the Russian company does not oppose the diversification of European countries’ natural gas supplies.
