Russian President
Vladimir Putin on Wednesday rubbished European calls to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, saying that such ideas could lead to humans living in caves again.
Speaking at an investment forum in
Moscow, Putin also slammed shale gas production through fracking as dirty and environmentally damaging, saying
Russia -- one of the world's top gas producers -- would never use this technology.
Asked what he thought of Europe's moves to reduce use of gas, for which it is heavily dependent on Russia, Putin said that "in my view, disdaining such a clean hydrocarbon as gas is absolutely strange".