Putin rules out trade war with EU over Gazprom

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday dismissed any talk of a trade war with Europe over a European Commission competition investigation into state-controlled gas monopoly Gazprom.

"We have very warm, constructive relations. It is not a trade war," Putin told reporters after an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the Russian port city of Vladivostok.

The European Union's executive Commission opened the inquiry on Tuesday into suspicions that Gazprom, which is more than 50 percent owned by the Russian state, is hindering the free flow of gas across the EU and imposing unfair prices on its customers by linking the cost of gas to oil prices.