President Putin Gives Assessment To A New Oil Trans-shipment Port In Russia's Baltic Region

President Vladimir Putin has said that the oil trans-shipment port of the Baltic Pipeline System was of great importance for ensuring the security of the country and its economic independence. Answering the question of RIA Novosti, the Russian President pointed out that the port had been built "at the highest up-to-date technical level which ensures economic security." Russia "not only receives its window in that part of Europe for trans-shipping oil," but this also makes it possible for the country "to flexibly manoeuvre between the southern and northern directions, to manoeuvre with the Caspian oil," said Vladimir Putin. According to him, putting the port into operation opens additional possibilities for the partners (of Russia) in the CIS countries." The President said that he had already talked about it with a number of the leaders in the countries of the Commonwealth, and that "many of them very positively reacted to what we are doing now for the Baltic area." Vladimir Putin said, in particular, that he had talked in detail about this with the President of Kazakhstan. The oil, which "we jointly produce in the Caspian area, will have additional possibilities to manoeuvre between the Mediterranean market and the market of Western and Northern Europe," said the President. According to him, the Baltic Pipeline System has "good perspectives for development."