Clearing the Doubts

Russian President Vladimir Putin seized the opportunity of his first meeting with members of an energy advisory council on Tuesday to reaffirm his commitment to the government’s ambitious privatization program. In the past, the Russian president has always emphasized the importance of energy to national wealth and power, and seemed to support those seeking to maintain the state’s tight grip on the country’s natural resources. But since returning to the Kremlin in May, president Putin has been trying to assure energy-industry executives and private investors that his administration will not backpedal on the proposed sale of shares in state-owned energy companies proposed by his predecessor.