The head of Russian Railways on Friday rejected allegations that the state monopoly willfully inflates rail transport prices, Prime news agency reported.
Federal Anti-Monopoly Service head Igor Artemyev on Tuesday criticized Russian Railways for hiking cargo tariffs to "some of the highest levels in the world."
Responding to the criticism, Russian Railways chief Vladimir Yakunin said the allegation was groundless, since tariffs are set by the government with the participation of all parties concerned.
"We do not pluck those figures out of thin air in our offices," he wrote on his blog. "Moreover, price levels are always a compromise decision, which has never worked in favor of Russian Railways."
The Federal Anti-Monopoly Service has made a lot of complaints about Russian Railways in the past, "but most of them have been ruled invalid in court," Yakunin said.
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