Russian President Assigns Top Priority To Energy Cooperation With Great Britain

Cooperation in the energy sector stands on top of the priority list in our collaboration with Great Britain, Russian president Vladimir Putin said in an interview with The Financial Times newspaper of Britain on the eve of his visit to the UK, scheduled for December 21-22. British Petroleum and some other companies are engaged in Russia's major energy projects, the president remarked. Russia has always played a significant role in this sector of the economy. Its role will become stronger above all because the world economy is interested in diversifying economic risks. "We have numerous deposits which are still to be developed," Putin proceeded, "and we will make further efforts in this direction." But this policy will fair enough seek to retain the corridor of prices beneficial for producers and consumers of energy resources. The fair price corridor stands within 20-25 dollars per barrel, Putin stressed. As to the lowering oil prices, the president contended that "we are neither happy about this nor worried, for the oil sector is essential for Russia but not the only one, unlike for other oil producing nations. Last year, for one, light industry yielded most of the revenues. In addition, Putin noted, we have experts and economists who believe that the plummeting oil prices will inevitably result in re-distribution of resources and stimulate growth of other economic sectors. Although, this will happen only if we make our economy more attractive, he emphasised.