AMSTERDAM, June 20 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev urged the Netherlands on Saturday to push ahead with talks on participation in projects in northwest Siberia's Yamal run by Russian energy giant Gazprom.
Gazprom chose the Yamal Peninsula as a region of its strategic interests in January 2002. The development of Yamal fields can yield annually up to 310-360 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas by 2030.
"I think we can push ahead with [Yamal] projects," Medvedev said at a joint news conference with Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende.
Medvedev described as an example of effective energy cooperation between the two countries the Dutch participation in the launch of an LNG plant in Sakhalin in Russia's Far East earlier this year.
Balkenende expressed the hope that potential cooperation in Yamal would boost Russian-Dutch energy contacts.
"I think your visit to the Netherlands will strengthen our energy cooperation," the Dutch premier told the Russian president.
Medvedev said that talks were ongoing between Russia and the Netherlands on the Nord Stream gas pipeline project to pump Russian natural gas to Europe under the Baltic Sea.
The two countries also agreed to draft new regulations for energy security in Europe.
"We have agreed to work jointly to make sure energy security improves across Europe," Medvedev said.
