Russian President Vladimir Putin met with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping and expressed hope that a new gas pipeline connecting Siberia with China will be built swiftly.
Putin held talks with Xi in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, on September 11 on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit.
Putin said that the new pipeline called Sila Sibiri (Siberia Power) would "help Chinese provinces and Russia's Far East tackle energy issues."
"We have practically started implementing the project and I am sure it will be effectively accomplished by both sides," Putin said.
At a groundbreaking ceremony for Sila Sibiri on September 1, Putin that a "new network of gas pipelines" in Siberia would allow Russia to direct gas exports to China or to the West "depending on the world market situation."
The European Union has stepped up efforts to decrease its dependence on Russian gas because of concerns raised by the conflict in transit nation Ukraine.
