Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin rounded off the first day of his two-day visit to Austria by visiting the European judo championships which was held in Vienna this year. Earlier in the day, he had attended the signing of a deal to bring Austria into the South Stream gas pipeline project, finally making the plan a reality. However, Russia's results in judo were far less impressive than in the Federal Chancellor's palace, according to Kommersant correspondent Andrei Kolesnikov, who was present at both events.
The Vienna talks were brief; there was almost nothing to discuss as the agreement on Austria's joining the South Stream project had been finalised, "down to every comma," as Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller put it.
"We import 60% of our gas from Russia. This issue is important to us, because that is a large proportion," Austria's Federal Chancellor Werner Fayman said at a news conference following the talks.
His statement might have sounded flattering, but not for me: I felt bitter because it implied that Russia had nothing else of importance to offer Austria.
"We can store the gas for as long as we need it," Fayman went on to say, probably thinking of more problems with gas transit across Ukraine. Isn't this a "phantom limb pain" case – the problems with Ukraine safely over, Austria is still desperate to fill its underground gas tanks by the New Year.
A British TV journalist asked Putin if he saw any conflict in Austria also being involved in the Nabucco project, "meant to ensure its independence from the Russian natural gas supplies." Putin was quick to take fire.
"I hear this thesis all the time that it is necessary to ensure independence from Russian gas supplies. And I always want to ask a question: why would you want that? There is a good saying: if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Do you have any idea how big Russian natural gas reserves are? We can meet the growing demand of the Russian economy and that of our main customers... practically all of our customers in Europe for the next hundred years!" he said.
In his words, the key question is about the resources needed to fill the pipeline. "If those who plan to build that pipeline have the resources then the project is worth implementing," he said.
"Before building something you first need to sign a supply contract," Putin explained adding that this was the case with Nord Stream.
"Building a pipeline without any contracts is senseless and highly risky. No one in this business would do that. Please, name at least one contract that has been signed under the Nabucco project. We can sign such contracts for the South Stream but I do not see anybody who would be keen to do the same under Nabucco," he said.
The Austrian leader agreed, admitting that he was not sure about the resources to be pumped through Nabucco. His confession was a surprise, as it was certainly against his interests to admit that.
In the past, the Russian prime minister was most often asked when Russia would pull out of Chechnya. This question is no longer asked – Western reporters must have realised that either he would never do, or that the war in Chechnya has died out without his decision, or that this question should be asked of a different person. The latter is the most surprising of all, because for the West, there is a clear association between Putin and the Chechen war.
Anyway, with Chechnya out of the way, the only concern left is Europe's dependence on Russia's gas supplies. Austrian journalists are well aware that it is impossible to use Russian gas and be independent of Russian gas.
Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller later said that South Stream would be completed in December 2015. They are beginning project design now and expect to complete the feasibility study by February 2011.
Miller spoke harshly of shale gas development prospects in Europe and the United States, an issue widely discussed today on both continents.
"Shale gas is a well-designed promotional campaign. To actually produce it, they will have to drill a large number of wells with a low flow rate, and regularly drill more. They will end up living amid a lunar landscape," he said.
On the other hand, Miller has not ruled out that shale gas production could be economically efficient, but only if it is locally available, as is the case in Russia, where Gazprom is already extracting it.
Later in the day, Putin watched the European judo championships from the front row. This kind of sports event, a rare treat for the Russian prime minister who is a judo black belt and an honorary president of the European judo union, does not often coincide with his official visits.
However, the prime minister was disappointed by the Russian national team's performance. Tea Donguzashvili, the only Russian athlete who made it to Saturday's finals (women's over 78kg class), was defeated by Slovenia's Lucija Polavder.
Vladimir Putin hugged her as he was awarding her the silver medal. After that, the prime minister made three speeches, in English, German and Russian, the last one the shortest of all. He talked about judo philosophy, respect for the rules, traditions and the teacher.
In fact I saw one person crying as he listened to Putin – the coach of the Belorussian judoka who won the gold. But those must have been tears of joy as he anticipated coming home and telling President Alexander Lukashenko that Belarus won even in Lukashenko's absence, while Russia lost despite Putin's presence.
Andrei Kolesnikov