Russian Premier Confirms Necessity Of Reforms In Gazprom

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov confirmed Friday the necessity of reforming Russian gas company Gazprom. He also said that the reform would not begin before the government is presented a true and full account for the situation inside the monopoly. The government is the main stock-holder of Gazprom. During his talk with journalists, the head of the government remarked that the government knows presently only "general indexes" of the company's activity, while information of "costs and profile assets" became known only recently. "Gazprom is a vital and sensitive area; reforms in it must yield revenues," the Premier stressed. He added that parameters of reforming this company will be similar to those of other monopolies; i.e. transportation and extracting components are supposed to be handled separately.