Rus. Medvedev Says To Present New Energy Charter

Medvedev gave no details of the proposed treaty except that it aimed to balance the interests of the consumer and supplier.

Russia will present a new energy charter next month designed to resolve disputes such as its row with Ukraine earlier this year that cut supplies to Europe, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Sunday.

A 15-year-old Energy Charter Treaty already exists to provide a legal structure for dispute resolution between countries but Russia has said it is biased towards consumers and declined to ratify it.

"I have issued the relevant instructions and our government and major companies are drafting proposals on a new Energy Charter Treaty," Medvedev said during an interview broadcast on Russian television.

Medvedev said he hoped to have the draft treaty ready for a meeting of the world's 20 largest economies (G20) in London next month.

A pricing row between Russian state gas monopoly Gazprom and Ukraine in January cut supplies to Europe for about two weeks. Russia provides about a quarter of Europe's gas needs and pumps 80 percent of this via Ukraine.

The row cost Russia billions of dollars in lost revenues just as a global financial crisis started to dent its economy and also damaged Europe's trust in Russia as an energy supplier.

Medvedev gave no details of the proposed treaty except that it aimed to balance the interests of the consumer and supplier.

"The consumer is vulnerable but sometimes you must also think about producers and transit states otherwise it's impossible to agree," he said.

The current Energy Charter Treaty -- which 51 states have either signed or acceded to -- has been criticised for failing to resolve the dispute between Russia and Ukraine.

In February the treaty's secretary-general said the treaty needed to be adjusted rather than overhauled.