Russia won't make any dramatic changes in its ties with the European Union despite an E.U. gas network agreement with Ukraine which infuriated Moscow, an influential vice premier in charge of energy said late Sunday.
"I think any measures are still far off. We believe that common sense will prevail and see no reason for any drastic change in our partnership," Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin said in an interview to the NTV television channel.
"I think things are very unlikely to develop the way this deal suggests. I see no serious analysis, no professional work in this document," Sechin said.
"We shall see who in the European Union actually supports these declarations, because from what we know from our sources and our work with our partners, including those in the European Commission, the deal was prepared in closed circles," Sechin added.
Ukraine Monday signed an agreement with the European Commission to pave the way for much-needed foreign investment in its gas pipeline network, drawing immediate fire from Moscow.
This latest flare-up of Russian-Ukrainian tensions over an overhaul of Ukraine's Soviet-era pipeline network has revived fears of a repeat of a gas dispute in January which left a dozen E.U. countries without energy supplies.
Speaking to reporters in Sochi Monday evening, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warned Russia would "review" its relations with the E.U. if Moscow were left sidelined by the discussions, in some of his angriest comments yet against the bloc.
He said it didn't make sense to exclude Russia - which sends some 80% of its gas destined for the E.U. through Ukraine's Soviet-era pipeline network - from the talks.