Pledge: Alexei Miller, left, made his vow at a meeting with Germany's Economy Minister Michael Glos
Miller vows to keep Europe's gas safe
Alexei Miller, the boss of Russian gas giant Gazprom, vowed to ensure the safe supply of gas to Germany and the European Union in future, just days after a row between Russia and Ukraine briefly disrupted deliveries.
Following talks with German Economy Minister Michael Glos in Berlin, Miller said the company had always been a reliable and safe supplier for its customers.
"This will not change in the future," he said.
German politicians had voiced concerns the country might be too dependent on Russian gas after a spat between Moscow and Kiev about gas prices led to a drop in supplies to Europe.
Deliveries to the 25-nation bloc, which gets a quarter of its gas from Russia, were hit after Gazprom cut deliveries to Ukraine on 1 January to push its demand for a fourfold price rise.
The two former Soviet neighbours struck a five-year pact on the supply of gas to Ukraine last week, under which the latter will pay nearly double the previous price for gas imports.
Glos said Miller had assured him that there would be "no problems" with gas deliveries in future and that Russia was keen to extend its supply of gas to consumers abroad.
Miller said that work on a new pipeline linking Russia and Germany through the Baltic Sea was on schedule and that the gas flow would reach Germany by mid-2010.
He also added that "new initiatives" on energy would be discussed during German Chancellor Angela Merkel's visit to Moscow on Monday.
"These will be a topic of discussion with Chancellor Merkel in Moscow," Reuters quoted him as saying, without providing further details.