Russia and Serbia will build a gas pipeline to Europe

The foreign ministers of Russia and Serbia announced that their countries were ready to build the largest gas pipeline to Europe and confirmed that representatives from Moscow and Belgrade had discussed the Ukrainian crisis face to face. The meeting between Sergei Lavrov and his Serbian counterpart Ivica Dacic took place on the sidelines of the Council of the Committee of Ministers of Europe.

The Foreign Ministry said on its website that “The talks have confirmed the mutual desire to strengthen ties and continue large-scale bilateral projects in trade, economic and investment areas, including the construction of the South Stream gas pipeline.” The statement said that “We are with We noted with satisfaction a certain closeness and even coincidence of the points of view of Moscow and Belgrade regarding key issues at the European and global levels. Special attention was paid to the situation in the Balkans and in Ukraine ”.

Russia annually pumps about 100 billion cubic meters of gas to European countries through the territory of Ukraine, which is 80 percent of its total gas supplies to Europe. The South Stream project, worth 15.5 billion euros, is intended to reduce Russia's dependence on the transit system of Ukraine. Russia's Gazprom said it will announce the final route for the South Stream pipeline in the summer.

Gazprom is considering three routes for the project: through Bulgaria to Serbia, Hungary and Austria; through Bulgaria to Serbia, Hungary, Slovenia, Austria and Italy; or via Bulgaria and Greece to the south of Italy. Last week, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said he was confident in the restraint of the European Commission regarding the construction of South Stream, which aims to diversify Russian gas exports and is especially important in the context of recent events in Ukraine.