The Russian delegation demonstratively left the gas conference in Brussels.

Russian delegation led by Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko, left an international investment conference in Brussels on the modernization of the transmission system of Ukraine. This informs UNIAN. According to the participants of the Russian delegation, the final declaration did not reflect the interests of Russia and will not contribute to the smooth operation of the TCU.
At a conference in Brussels, the parties were to discuss the steps to upgrade the GTS of Ukraine, in particular credit, which will receive Kiev from the European Investment Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank. In Russia, even before the conference said they wanted to participate in the modernization of the GTS of Ukraine, as interest in the uninterrupted supply of Russian gas to Europe.
It turned out that Russia and Ukraine are far apart, not only in his vision of ways to modernize the GTS, but in calculating the costs for these purposes. Thus, according to Ukrainian media, Ukraine has agreed with Brussels for a loan of two and a half billion dollars, while in "Gazprom" considers that the upgrading of TCU will need at least $ 30 billion.
According to Sergei Shmatko, signed March 23, the declaration would not be beneficial and the Ukraine. A deputy chairman of Gazprom Valery Golubev noted that the declaration drawn Ukraine at the European showdown.
In turn, the European Commission has already noted that the new document is not directed against Russia and not weaken the position of Gazprom on the European market. Nevertheless, in Russia believe that the modernization of the GTS of Ukraine should be addressed only on a tripartite basis. "I see the only way to effectively address all these complex issues in the trilateral cooperation of Russia, Ukraine and the European Union, of course, with the assistance of international financial institutions", - underlined the Sergey Shmatko, transmits "Interfax".
Previously, it was reported that in the final declaration of the conference in Brussels, Ukraine has agreed to provide transparency of its gas market, the access of interested companies to underground storage facilities throughout the country and assumed a number of other commitments.
In Moscow earlier said that would be interested in the privatization of the TCU, which is the secretariat of Viktor Yushchenko in early 2009 was estimated at 25 billion dollars. However, Ukraine has repeatedly stressed that there would send the TCU in property overseas or to private investors.