Russia 's Energy Minister said Wednesday that Moldova should withdraw from an agreement to integrate with the European gas market if it wants to receive a discount on Russian gas, Russian newswires reported.

"We think Moldova should first of all denounce the protocol on entering the European energy community agreement. This is a condition for us to consider the question of lowering the price of gas," Alexander Novak was quoted as saying. He was speaking before a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Moldovan Prime Minister Vlad Filat.

Mr. Novak added that Moldova had asked for a 30% discount.

Russia has criticized European Union efforts to liberalize its energy market, which could harm the interests of its gas giant OAO Gazprom (GAZP.RS), which supplies around a quarter of the EU's gas needs. Tensions were raised last week when the EU's executive arm announced the official opening of a probe into whether Gazprom had violated antitrust rules.

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