Answering questions from journalists after the meeting, Mr Zubkov said he intended to balance the interests of the state and the tasks of the company's development.

"I will put the interests of the state first and as a Government member I deem it my duty to effectively strike a balance between the interests of the state and the development of the company," Mr Zubkov stressed.

Mr Zubkov pledged that he would pay close attention to the work of the company. "Gazprom is not simply a major company. It is a company that in many ways sets the pace of the country's economy," he noted.

While at the Gazprom office, Mr Zubkov visited the dispatcher room of Gazprom's Central Production and Dispatcher Department, where he was told about the history of the department, its current status and the prospects for the development of the unified gas supply system of Russia and other countries.