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West's press hysteria in Ukraine gas spat was pressure - Putin-1

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President Vladimir Putin Thursday said Western media hysteria over a gas pricing spat between Russia and Ukraine was an attempt to apply political pressure on Russia.
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MOSCOW, July 6 (RIA Novosti) - President Vladimir Putin Thursday said Western media hysteria over a gas pricing spat between Russia and Ukraine was an attempt to apply political pressure on Russia.

Russia has since been subjected to increasing criticism of its use of mineral reserves - U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney accused it of using energy to blackmail other states in a vitriolic attack in May - but senior officials in Moscow have dismissed the notion.

"Indeed, the hysteria kicked up in the media primarily in European countries and North America was an attempt to exert political pressure, not on Ukraine, but on Russia," Putin said during a Web cast.

"Somebody wants to force us to sell gas for artificially low prices," he said. "That is over - everyone should play an equal price."

Russia has been selling gas to ex-Soviet states for considerably lower prices than Europe for the last 15 years and is now looking to revise gas contracts and introduce market prices. A bitter dispute with Ukraine earlier this year over price increases for natural gas has led to suspension of gas supplies to the country.

Putin said that the Western consumers of Russian natural gas depended on transit agreements between Russia and Ukraine at the time, but at present the situation had changed drastically.

"We have agreed to separate these issues," Putin said. "No matter what agreements we have with Ukraine, if Ukraine fulfills its commitments, it will have to provide the transit of Russian gas to the European consumers for a long time."

The president said this approach would ensure the energy security of the European economy and households.

"These decisions improve the conditions of [natural gas] supplies to our consumers in Europe," Putin said, adding that the discussion of Russia's position on this issue during the Group of Eight summit in St. Petersburg on July 15-17 would help finding common solutions for energy security concerns.

The leaders of the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Italy, Germany, Canada and France will be joining Putin for Russia's debut summit.

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