The Russian Federation signed the treaty and applied it provisionally but did not ratify it. It linked the ratification of the treaty to negotiations on an Energy Charter Transit Protocol. In October 2006, German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Jacques Chirac proposed the creation of a "balanced energy partnership" between France and Germany, representing the European Union, and Russia. Under the agreement, Russia would have to sign the European Energy Charter, something President Vladimir V. Putin, has said impinges on Russia's national interests.