Let oil flow to Czechs, Putin says

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin instructed his government Monday to restore the flow of oil to the Czech Republic, which was reduced after the Czechs signed an agreement with the United States to base a missile defense radar on their territory.

Since the Russians oppose that system, the slowdown in oil supplies stirred speculation that Russia was retaliating by curtailing energy exports to the Czech Republic, which the Russian government denied.
Oil supplies dropped about 40 percent on July 9, the day after the Czech government signed the antimissile deal with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Prague, and have remained at that level since.

Putin made no mention of the missile agreement in brief remarks carried by the Interfax news agency. The report covered a conversation between Putin and Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, who oversees Russian energy policy. Putin asked Sechin to “work with all partners to make sure there are no disruptions.”

The two then ruminated on the possible causes for the shortfall, according to the report. Putin said he agreed with Sechin’s conclusion that “the immediate blame is not on Russian oil suppliers” but rather on unspecified offshore oil trading companies that deal in Russian oil.

International Herald Tribune