23 February 2004 07:48
Russian Prime Minister Promises No Cut-Offs in Future
The Russian Prime Minister, Mikhail Kasyanov, has expressed "deep regret" for last week's temporary
suspension of gas supplies to Poland, Lithuania and Germany, due to a conflict between Russia's Gazprom and the
Belarussian authorities. In a telephone conversation with Prime Minister Leszek Miller, he promised this
"incident" would not be repeated. However, a cut-off which lasted less than 24 hours was long enough to expose
Poland's vulnerability to such events as many big plants had to reduce gas consumption. The opposition fiercely
attacked the government for neglecting to diversify energy supplies and cancelling a contract with Norway. Jan Rokita of
the Civic Platform (PO) argued that Gazprom's cutting off supplies to Poland was yet another "crisis and
defeat for the government". Meanwhile, Deputy Economy Minister Jacek Piechota insisted that the country's
energy security was not at risk at any time. Russian companies provide more than 90 percent of gas used in Poland.
[Polish News Bulletin] |
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