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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, Mr Tsivilev.

I hope you have settled into your new role by now. You have an extensive background as the head of one of Russia’s most developed – in terms of energy – regions. This concerns the coal industry in the first place.

Nevertheless, you have had the opportunity to familiarise yourself with all the details and aspects of this work, which is undoubtedly one of Russia’s key and strategic areas. I understand we are going to discuss the progress made, right? Please, go ahead.

Minister of Energy Sergei Tsivilev: Thank you very much, Mr President.

Indeed, for over six years I’ve been heading Kuzbass, and this experience has been very helpful. On top of that, I chaired the State Council Commission on Energy for five years and headed the Siberian Agreement, which comprises ten Siberian regions, for two years, so I certainly do have some previous experience.

Over the first six months of this year, Russia’s fuel and energy complex has, in general, coped with the tasks that you set for us. We made sure that the domestic market is filled with the essentials. We are active in exports and have accomplished quite a lot despite the sanctions pressure.

However, I must admit we faced a number of challenges this summer caused by power outages, which were a concern for the people, especially in southern Russia. The outages were caused by three factors. The first one is quite pleasant and positive: we saw a major surge in the number of tourists, which is a welcome change. The other two factors are negative. First, the hot weather in southern Russia this year and second, a higher than usual incidence of emergency situations. We analysed all of that and decided that in southern Russia… we are now getting ready for the winter season, but we will also prepare for the summer season in southern Russia in due time to avoid such situations in the future.

Vladimir Putin: Temperature patterns have changed.

Sergei Tsivilev: True. It is a different pattern from one year to the next. So we should be proactive and set the bar higher for the temperature pattern forecasts.

I would like to thank you for supporting the two initiatives which are critical for the fuel and energy sector. One initiative concerns backbone territorial grid companies and has now become a law which will help us manage them more effectively and bring down the number of emergencies. In case we are confronted with emergencies, we will be better equipped to cope with them and to minimise our losses.

The next critical law – you supported our initiative as well – concerns mining activities. Mining operations will now be legalised. They will pay taxes and electricity bills.

In the regions with surplus of electricity, they will use it and pay for it, thus loading the generating capacities. In case of shortages, this surplus will be redirected for the national economy needs in accordance with the law. They will need to relocate to the regions with surplus electricity which is a sensible balance as things stand. Thank you for supporting this initiative.

We are now drafting an energy strategy to 2050 in accordance with your instruction. For the first time in the fuel and energy sector, we now have a national project, Innovative Nuclear and Energy Technologies, which is precisely about innovative technologies. You have tasked us with ensuring technological sovereignty, which is today a critically important task for us.

We are working hard towards this goal, and the Institute for Oil and Gas Technology Initiatives is taking this very seriously. We are about to expand this institute by adding coal and energy. The goal is to create uniform standards for the entire industry, and we will be able to build interchangeable equipment to Russian standards that are applicable to our entire manufacturing industry.

The Government Commission on Import Substitution is operating quite efficiently. First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, Minister of Industry and Trade Anton Alikhanov and I are on this Commission. We are working as a team to ensure that the technologies we are working on can be quickly adopted at our production facilities.

As you have more than once emphasised, the fuel and energy sector forms the core of our economy. So, it would be great if some time soon, this autumn, meetings are held as part of the strategy development process led by you, to consolidate our key approaches to different segments of the fuel and energy sector.

That is probably my only request. Everything else is progressing as expected.

Vladimir Putin: Good. Let’s take a look at your materials.

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