Putin: Baltic pipeline system offers more room for export maneuvering

The commissioning of an oil transshipping facility near St. Petersburg not only gives Russia "a window" in that part of Europe, but also enables it to maneuver between the northern and southern directions. Russian President Vladimir Putin made statement to this effect on Thursday at a ceremony for commissioning the first section of the Baltic oil pipeline system. The specialized oil-loading port of Primorsk is the terminal of the Baltic pipeline system for exporting Russian crude from the fields of the Timano-Pechersk and West Siberian oil and gas provinces. Putin holds that this also gives more room for maneuvering Caspian oil and offers greater opportunities for the CIS members. The president pointed out that many leaders take "a very positive attitude towards what we are doing here in the Baltic Sea area." In particular, he referred to his talk with the president of Kazakhstan about joint projects concerning production of Caspian Sea oil and said that the commissioning of the Primorsk facility "offers an opportunity for additional maneuvering between the Mediterranean market as well as the markets of Western and Northern Europe."