Official: Foreign fuel firms' desire to leave Russia not independent

MOSCOW, Apr 15 (PRIME) -- The desire of foreign energy companies to quit Russia was not independent, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said in an article published in journal Energeticheskaya Politika on Friday.

"I shall notice that we are in constant contact with the foreign partners. We see that their desire to leave the Russian market is not voluntary as a rule. We hope that common sense and economics will prevail," Novak said.

Transition to payments for gas in rubles is logical and connected with Russia's desire to receive payments with a 100% guarantee, Novak said. He added that several customers had agreed to pay in rubles, and Moscow was waiting for a decision of the rest of importers.

Novak quoted experts as saying that the March fuel price increase did not reach its limit. "Experts are sure that this was not the limit. The global fuel markets are still in a state of high uncertainty now," he said.

In March, the gas prices almost reached U.S. $4,000 per 1,000 cubic meters, and the oil prices $140 per barrel.

There is no reasonable alternative to Russian fuel for Europe, and Europe will be unable to replace Russian gas in five to 10 years, he said.

The U.S. and the U.K. said that they were reducing their dependence on Russian fuel, but statistics show the opposite.

The U.S. raised the Russian oil imports by 43% on the week from March 19 until March 25.

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