Senior EU officials assured Russia on Tuesday that Russian energy giant Gazprom will get fair treatment in its expansion towards western Europe.

The assurance was made in a letter sent to Russia by EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs and Austrian Federal Minister for Economics and Labor Martin Bartenstein, whose country is holding the EU presidency.

However, the two officials still warned that the EU could not overlook the company's monopoly position as Russia's only gas exporter.

"The rules applied to Gazprom will be no different to those applied to ... other companies, notably under the competition rules of the EU Treaty, and that they will be applied in exactly the same manner," said the letter.

Piebalgs and Bartenstein stressed that Russia "and in particular Gazprom" was a reliable supplier of natural gas to the EU.

"The EU and Russia are, and must remain, in a position of mutually beneficial inter-dependence," the letter said.

The two leaders called for Russia to sign the Energy Charter Treaty and Transit Protocol that could set up formal mediation for future disputes over gas transport.

They also reminded Moscow that long-term gas supply contracts would facilitate the "very significant investments" Russia needed to meet future demand.

However, in a separate statement, the European Commission said the fact that other Russian companies and foreign joint ventures with gas reserves were not able to supply the EU market, "will be a significant fact that will necessarily be taken into account in any such objective analysis."

Under EU antitrust rules, monopolies have a special responsibility to ensure that the way they do business does not prevent fair competition that could harm consumer choice.

Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin lashed out at the West's hostile attitude toward Russia's growing clout in international energy markets.

His comments followed similar recommendations from high-ranking officials at OAO Gazprom and Transneft pipeline company that Russia should diversify its markets away from an over-reliance on Europe -- which were perceived in Europe as a threat.

Europe started questioning in earnest its dependency on Russian gas -- which feeds Europe one quarter of its gas needs -- after Russia temporarily cut off gas supplies in a dispute with neighboring Ukraine during the New Year's holiday.

Source: Xinhua