President Vladimir Putin says Russia will be a reliable and stable supplier of energy to foreign customers and has dismissed talk of Russia as an "energy superpower" which would throw its weight around and hold other countries to ransom.
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Foreign concerns about Russia's reliability as an energy supplier, following the stand-off with Ukraine last winter, were uppermost in Mr Putin's mind. While reassuring the West of Russia's good faith, however, he dismissed the idea of Russia as an "energy superpower" as a "cold war" term.
"We're not behaving like an energy superpower," he said. "We just want negotiations that are fair. We don't need superpower status." Yes, he said, "we have huge energy potential that is still underestimated ... but we have always behaved responsibly and intend to continue doing so."
I have some Ukrainian friends and relatives that would definitely beg to differ.
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