MOSCOW, November 9 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Energy Ministry has submitted to the European Commission proposals on an early warning system against disruptions in energy supplies to Europe, a Russian business daily said on Monday.
"I have made the final amendments [to the memorandum], and we have submitted it to Director for Security at the European Commission's Directorate-General for Energy and Transport, Marjeta Jager," Russian Deputy Energy Minister Anatoly Yanovsky said.
He told the paper he was ready to start negotiations any time so that Russia-EU energy dialogue coordinators could sign a deal on November 18.
The mechanism at the center of the proposal is based on bilateral energy relations between Russia and the EU, with the opinion of energy transiting countries to be taken into account only with the approval of Russia as an energy supplier and Europe as a consumer, Kommersant said.
According to the paper, the Russian proposals are mostly aimed at preventing energy tapping or unsanctioned energy transit cuts, as well as emergency measures in case of a pipeline failure.
The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry's department for cooperation with Europe, Vladimir Voronkov, told Kommersant on Sunday that the signing of the deal as soon as possible would thwart gas conflicts and prevent problems with Russian natural gas supplies to European consumers.
However, some experts doubted the Russian energy proposal would help settle the Ukrainian gas issue.
"If the standoff continues within Ukraine's executive branch, Russia-EU commissions will be of no use at all," Konstantin Simonov, director of the Moscow National Energy Security Foundation told the paper.
Mikhail Korchemkin, who heads the U.S.-based East European Gas Analysis, also pointed out that the EU or Russia would still be unable to influence Ukraine, which would not be involved in the scheme.
The proposal names Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko and EU Commissioner for Energy Andris Piebalgs as coordinators, according to Kommersant.
