Though we still come first in the sphere of gas export, national production has diminished due to the increasing volumes of hydrogenation for the electric power industry and therefore there is a lower need for gas at thermal power plants.

We all are interested in an open development, without any prejudice; this refers particularly and, perhaps, primarily to the Baltic countries, for them it is more important than for Russia.

I believe that a country, Russia in this case, which can defend the honour and dignity of its citizens, protect their lives, and fulfill its international legal commitments under the peacekeeping mandate, will not find itself in isolation, no matter what our partners in Europe or the United States may think, expressing their bloc mentality.

However, personally, I see this as not having the right to abuse this trust [among the citizens of Russia and Japan], and any decision we reach should correspond to the national interests of the Russian Federation.

We are not going to waste our reserves and burn them for any political ambitions. We will act very carefully.

If we act together along these lines, we will create conditions, the conditions for trust that Shinzō Abe speaks about, so as to take another step and conclude a peace treaty on certain terms. However, first, it is essential to cover this part of the way and then agree on the terms for signing a peace treaty. Both are challenging tasks but they are feasible.

I see the collapse of the Soviet Union as a great tragedy of the XX century.