MOSCOW, Nov. 22 (UPI) -- Russia will not sign a European Union energy agreement opening up access to resources, saying it would hurt Russia's energy companies.
Russia has been pressed by the EU to sign the Energy Charter and its refusal has led Poland to block other Russian-EU cooperation.
But Russia says the agreement will hurt Russia's economy and is too generous to importers of Russian oil and gas, RIA Novosti reports.
"Russia will not ratify the treaty and protocol in their present form, and the European Union knows this very well," said Sergei Yastrzhembsky, President Vladimir Putin's top EU adviser.
A Russian-EU summit begins Friday, with the Energy Charter being a major hurdle to meet.
It would require Russia to lower the tariffs for oil and gas and allow European companies a greater investment role in Russia's energy monopoly.
"We find it unacceptable that energy transit tariffs should be the same for domestic and foreign consumers," said Yastrzhembsky. "We cannot accept the loss of our natural advantage as a transit country with a unique, diversified pipeline system, over which we will effectively lose control if we ratify the treaty and the protocols as they stand now."
