President of Russia : Meeting with Government members

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, colleagues,

Today we will be discussing the expanded use of gas as motor fuel. This is why we have Mr Zubkov with us [Viktor Zubkov, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Gazprom and Special Presidential Representative for Cooperation with the Gas Exporting Countries Forum]. He will tell us what Gazprom is doing and what we intend to do in this sphere in general. I have said this before, but I will repeat that we must clearly pay more attention to environmental issues, considering global trends, in particular in automobile manufacturing, such as the growing use of electric cars. However, the use of gas as motor fuel appears to be preferable in Russia, including for environmental reasons, because you need to produce electricity before you can use it. A considerable part of electricity is produced at coal-fired plants. It is a major element which few people take into account.

Before we get down to the main issue on our agenda, I would like to ask [Emergencies Minister Vladimir] Puchkov to tell us about the spring flooding relief efforts and preparations for the forest wildfire season, which has actually begun.

Go ahead, please.

To be continued.