25 February 2011

EU/ RUSSIA: Putin Blasts Energy, Foreign Policies.

NYTIMES/ S. CASTLE /

    During a testy news conference with EU president José Manuel Barroso, Russian PM Vladimir Putin criticized past EU foreign policy choices and current energy policies.
   Putin seemed especially perturbed by new limits on pipeline ownership by gas suppliers which may force Russia to sell its Gazprom pipeline network in some European countries.
    The new rules “will harm the activities of our energy companies,” he said, contending that prices for consumers would rise. “We are talking in practice about the confiscation of property.”