MOSCOW. March 12 (Interfax) - Speculation that Russia may cease selling natural gas to any of its foreign customers "is totally absurd" for "thereby we would deprive ourselves of income," Russian First Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Denisov says in an interview to be published on Thursday.

Russia satisfies 25% of Europe's needs for gas but Europe accounts for 85% of Russia's revenues from hydrocarbon trade, Denisov tells Russia's Vremya Novostei newspaper.

"We are more dependent on Europe as regards hydrocarbons than Europe is on us," he says.

Denisov also questions initiatives to build gas pipelines that would bypass Russia, including the Nabucco project, supported by the European Union and the United States.

"There are no clear prospects for filling it with gas, whereas there must be guaranteed prospects. One can't build engineering installations of this kind hoping for good luck," he says.

Three countries - Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey - are seen as potential suppliers of gas for Nabucco, the deputy minister says.

"Azerbaijan has large reserves of hydrocarbons, but not as large as to provide 20 to 30 billion cubic meters of gas per year, whereas lower capacity makes no sense. Iran possesses the world's second-largest reserves of gas after Russia. But they need to be found out and developed, and an infrastructure needs to be set up, and this needs tens of billions of dollars. One can only use the future tense - a remote future tense as well - in talking about Nabucco," Denisov says.

The planned Caspian Gas Pipeline, which would pass through Russia, makes more sense economically, he argues.

This project may involve "building up current pipeline systems that can't cope with the necessary volumes of gas," he says. "And it isn't an isolated project either."

Denisov also mentions a Polish proposal for a gas pipeline, to be called Amber, that would pass through Poland and Baltic countries and be an alternative to Nord Stream, a planned pipeline that would lie on the Baltic Sea floor and carry gas from Russia to Germany.

"The interest of our respected Polish - just as Baltic - neighbors in having the Amber pipeline laid on their territory is completely understandable. It means income from transit fees. But increasing the number of countries in the transit chain would hamper interaction. Under the Nord Stream project, the producers and consumers will only be separated by the sea, through which the pipe will pass," Denisov says.

It is for this reason that not only Russia but also Germany supports Nord Stream, the deputy minister says. "Consumers who have learned from bitter experience want to safeguard themselves against unreliable intermediaries," he says.