Political crisis in Macedonia is being supported from outside, may influence Turkish Stream fate - Russian envoy to EU
ST. PETERSBURG. May 29 (Interfax) - The main problem in the Turkish Stream gas pipeline project is currently to determine further partners in the construction of the pipeline on the territory of Europe, Russian envoy to the EU Vladimir Chizhov said.
"The situation is, of course, difficult. The construction of the pipeline to the Greek-Turkish border is currently only a technical and financial task, but not a political one. We have all relevant political agreements with Turkey, The main question is who will build and where it will be built now," Chizhov told Interfax on Thursday.
"Clearly, the gas pipeline will cross the Greek border, but what's next? There are three possibilities, three countries: Bulgaria, with which we now have very negative experience of interaction, Albania, where the situation has never been very calm, and Macedonia. What do we see in Macedonia now? We see an acute political crisis, which is being actively heated from the outside. No one will probably admit it directly that it is connected to the future the Turkish Stream, but the analogy is obvious," Chizhov said.
Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski earlier said in an interview with the Macedonian portal Press24 that Macedonia, which is not an EU member, intends to take part in the Turkish Stream project if Russia and the EU reach an agreement on the project.
"Our position is that we will participate in it when Brussels and Moscow reach an agreement on this project. We are a country that wants to participate in the Euro-Atlantic community and we are guided by this goal when we make strategic decisions," he said.
Macedonia is a candidate to join the EU.
Bulgaria, which is an EU member, was a potential transit country for South Stream, a predecessor of Turkish Stream, but it had to change the contractor to build the gas pipeline under pressure from the European Commission and later did not give its permission to build the section of the pipeline.
