Mr Putin drew Mr Barroso's attention to the fact that any additions to the protocol signed in Moscow by representatives of Russia and the EU, the content of which was not agreed with the Russian side, were unacceptable. The document, Mr Putin said, must be signed by all parties without stipulations. He stressed that the provisions of the Ukrainian addition, first, radically alter the substance of the document and, second, are for the most part unrelated to the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine to European consumers and concern the commercial relationships between Gazprom and Naftogaz of Ukraine.
Mr Putin offered to send representatives of the Government's energy team and of Gazprom to tomorrow's meeting of EU energy ministers. "Our representatives are prepared to set forth and explain Russia's position in full," he said.
The Prime Minister of Russia and the President of the European Commission agreed to continue their contacts.