31/03/2014 (Agence Europe) - Almunia wants clear distinction to be made between Ukrainian situation and the investigation into Russian giant Gazprom. Asked in the United States on Friday 28 March, about Russian giant Gazprom, EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia stressed that “anti-trust investigations should be protected from any kind of external influence”. The European Commission is currently carrying out an investigation into the Russian gas company, and some commentators suggest that a ruling in the Gazprom case now could be viewed by Russia as an attack. Almunia himself said: '”These days are not the most adequate ones to have a quiet discussion on the questions related to Russian gas and how the Russian gas arrives to the territory and to the markets of the EU”. A few weeks ago, a spokesman for Almunia said in Brussels that the current situation would not affect the investigation in any way. (EL)