In his opinion, "strategic cooperation will continue; the issue now is to work out the toolkit of this cooperation in such spheres as energy safety, infrastructure, tax regulation." Mr. Matlashov also said British Energy Minister Stephen Timms actively asked his Russian partners about the working out of the North European gas pipeline, to go from Russia to continental Europe and further to the British Isles.
"We reported that a feasibility study had been made, the project's cost assessed and possible variants of laying the pipeline given," Mr. Matlashov said.
He said, "the demand for natural gas on the European market is growing, while Great Britain will import gas in the near future." "This project will be interesting to Russia as a variant of an all-European project to enhance the safety of Europe's energy supply," Mr. Matlashov concluded.
