Russia to Set Gas Price Irrespective of EU Stand

Russia plans to set its domestic gas prices irrespective of the European Union's stance, Russian Antimonopoly Minister Ilya Yuzhanov announced. "We will always have lower prices for energy than other countries," he was quoted as saying. The Ministry's council decided to ask the government to send a memorandum on the issue of "double price formation" on energy resources to the EU, the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Yuzhanov said.

Lower domestic prices for energy resources such as gas and power are one of the key disagreements between Russia and the WTO in talks on Russia's WTO accession, the Russia Journal reported.