Russia signs 30-year gas deal with China

Russia's President Vladimir Putin has signed a multi-billion dollar, 30-year gas deal with China. The deal between Russia's Gazprom and China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) has been 10 years in the making.

   Russia has been keen to find an alternative energy market for its gas as it faces the possibility of European sanctions over the crisis in Ukraine.

   No official price has been given but it is estimated to be worth over $400bn. President Putin said in a statement to the Russian news channel Rossiya: "The price is satisfactory for both sides.

   "It is tied, like it is envisaged in all our international contracts with Western partners, specifically our partners in Western Europe, to the price of gas and gas fuel. It is an absolutely calibrated, general formula for pricing."

(Πηγή: bbc.com)