Gas from Russia to Greece via Black Sea will clearly arrive via Bulgaria - Kremlin aide
MOSCOW. May 26 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia's Black Sea gas pipeline will clearly go through Bulgaria.
"Energy issues have major significance in the context of this visit because the Greeks still call for the reanimation of South Stream one way or another and hope to gain transit revenue," Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov told the press, ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Greece.
"The project of Russian gas supply to Greece and Italy via third countries is being worked on. It is planned to lay the gas pipeline on the bottom of the Black Sea and across the territory of a Black Sea littoral state, clearly Bulgaria, to Greece and from there to Italy," he said.
Gazprom , Greek company DEPA and the French-Italian Edison signed a memorandum to this effect in Rome in February, Ushakov said. "Still, this document is not a final investment decision. It is necessary to negotiate with a number of states and, most importantly, with European Commission officials," the presidential aide said.
The sides seek the maximum use of the deliverables of Edison and DEPA works in the ITGI Poseidon project for those purposes.
The primary question is 'the third country' or 'the third countries' where the pipeline will emerge from the Black Sea and through which it will go to Greece. It could be Romania (if the pipeline is laid through Crimea it would be the shortest). It could be Bulgaria (the project is ready) - Bulgarian officials suddenly said a month ago that the South Stream project was about to be reanimated but their statement was formally refuted. It could be Turkey, but it would be necessary to wait for normalization of relations. In any case, the historical configuration of ITGI stipulates the reception of gas from Turkey (800 kilometers of the Turkey-Greece-Italy route). Gazprom documents have repeatedly reaffirmed adherence to Turkish Stream but with political reservations.
Alexander Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Management Committee at Gazprom, told reporters that "if you look at the map, you can see that there are not many such options."
"Including the one mentioned by Ushakov. A lot of work was done, and it can be implemented quickly. But this project cannot be implemented without participation by a different country that has access to the Black Sea [Turkey]," he said.
"We have signed memorandums with our European partners [on the Poseidon project] on conducting a feasibility study. We are studying all options. But give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's. In this case, it's the care of the European Union, the European Commission, to ensure that this gas comes to Europe. Like in the situation with Nord Stream 2, in the situation with the southern route we agreed to work on the ground in strict accordance with the European legislation," Medvedev said.
