Igor Yusufov downplayed fears that have emerged in Europe that Russia will be unable to meet the EU's long-term energy needs, even though it currently covers 25% of its natural-gas requirements.
"In terms of potential and mineral we can do this but it requires financing, technologies and guaranteed markets," Igor Yusufov at a summit of the Group of Eight industrialized nations being held near St. Petersburg.
Yusufov said the European Union's demand for energy was growing.
Jose Manual Barroso, the president of the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, said earlier that Russia would be unable in the long run to fully meet Europe's needs for oil supplies.
The Russian presidential envoy said Russia could meet the EU's energy needs, given integration and reciprocal interest, and also the common rules of admitting foreign companies to the Russian fuel and energy market in exchange for granting Russian companies' access to assets.
"Russia is a source for you. Money is not what Russia largely needs. It needs [the EU's] advanced technologies," Yusufov said.
