Does Russia seek a leadership role in a gas cartel similar to Saudi Arabias one in OPEC?
Medvedev: In Qatar, exporters agreed to keep up consultations on how to coordinate their activities. Growing development, production, transportation costs and technological challenges objectively require such consultations. Only Russia, Qatar and Iran have a long-term gas-supplying capability. Other producers can only complement these three. Any attempts to diversify natural gas supplies won’t amount to more than a three-finger combination. [a Russian equivalent of “not worth a fig”] Nobody has the right to restrict exporters’ policy coordination, in which Russia objectively plays the leading role, due to our resources and production. I’m really surprised that consumer countries, the Americans in particular, call this coordination a weapon of blackmail and extortion. This rhetoric is unfounded. TIME: Gazprom insists on its position as the single owner and operator of Russia’s United Gas-Supplying System (UGS). Gazprom denies pipeline access to a handful of independent gas producers who
