Prime Minister Joseph Muscat put down concerns about a lack of detail on Malta's dealings with Azerbaijan and SOCAR to nitpicking by the opposition in reply to a query by The Malta Independent.
Dr Muscat was answering questions by the press following a visit to the Luqa Primary School, and the questions inevitably turned to the controversy raised by the Auditor General's report on Enemalta's hedging during 2014, specifically hedging deals with Azeri state-owned SOCAR Trading which were reached following "ministerial direction" and on which documentation was incomplete.
Echoing comments made by Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi, the Prime Minister pointed out that this ministerial direction was discovered because it was minuted by Enemalta "in the most transparent manner."
"The deal came about because political contacts had been established, but Enemalta was left to negotiate by itself," he explained.
Dr Muscat was then asked to comment on the secrecy surrounding the government's dealings with Azerbaijan and SOCAR.
SOCAR is part of the ElectroGas consortium which is building a power station in Delimara, but the relevant contract is yet to be published, and the contents of the memorandum of understanding on energy that the government signed with Azerbaijan last December remain a mystery.
The Prime Minister, however, chose to point out that Malta was far from being the only European country to seek deals with Azerbaijan, noting that Italy, France and the UK have done the same. He pointed out that the EU itself was turning to Azerbaijan for the supply of gas.
"I do not see why we should stand out," he said.
Pressed further on the lack of detail surrounding this deals, however, Dr Muscat was dismissive, arguing that the issue simply boiled down to the opposition seeking to create controversy out of everything.
"The opposition is yet to understand that we will not allow our country's policy to remain a reed shaking with the wind," he said, quoting a Maltese idiom.
"The easiest thing to do is to say that price increases were forced from overseas. But we will remain active to ensure that the people do not have to pay higher prices but get a good deal."