SOCHI, March 23 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will start
reviewing its relations with the European Union should Moscow's
interests be ignored, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said.
Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko said Monday Russia
had been effectively excluded from talks at an international
investment conference in Brussels on the modernization of the
Ukrainian gas pipeline network, adding that the conference,
convened by the European Commission, was limited to discussions
between Ukraine and the EU.
"If Russia's interests are ignored, we will also have to
start reviewing the fundamentals of our relations," Putin said.
"We would very much like for things not to reach this point."
The premier also told journalists that a declaration on
the gas market adopted in Brussels by Ukraine and the EU was
poorly thought-out and unprofessional.
Putin said the European Commission had refused to combine
efforts with Russia to jointly allocate funds to Ukraine, whose
economy was badly affected by the global financial crisis.
"We proposed to our European partners, we discussed
uniting the efforts of Russia and the European Commission, but
we were told that the European Commission has no money for
Ukraine," he said.
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