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Cause and Effect in European Politics and Law

"South Stream" is among the top news in Russian media

Adelina Marini, May 15, 2009

Today's signing of the "South Stream" agreements appeared to be in the focus of the Russian media. According to the ITAR-TASS news agency with the signing of the documents the final route of the pipeline will be defined and that was a disputable issue in the last months. The beginning of the pipe will be at Novorossiysk, under the Black sea and will enter Bulgaria through the port of Varna, then in Bulgaria it will divide into two: the southern pipe will go through Greece and the Adriatic to Italy and the other - through Serbia and Hungary to Austria.

As it has been agreed in the end of last month in Moscow there will be new pipes for "South Stream" through Bulgaria and the existing ones will remain for Bulgaria to uses for own purposes, reminds the TASS news agency. The gas companies of Bulgaria and Russia will establish a joint venture with 50 % share foe each country.

Serbia will also sign an agreement with which the volume of the Russian gas, transited via Serbia will be increased from 10 to 20 bn cubic metres per year. The distribution of shares in the joint venture between Gazprom and Serbiagaz will be 51 % and 49 % respectively.

Greece will also sign an agreement in Sochi by the minister of regional policy Constantinos Hatsadakis. ITAR-TASS, as well as the Novosti news agency quote the Russian authorities that the signing of the documents shouldn't be regarded as an answer to the recent "Eastern Partnership" summit in Prague, followed by the Southern Corridor summit. In support of this statement the Ministry of foreign affairs in Moscow says that Russia doesn't regard "Nabucco" pipeline as anti Russian.

The agency reminds that the capacity of the "South Stream"pipeline will be 30-47 bn cubic metres of has annually and the price for its construction is estimated around 10 bn euro with exploitation date starting in 2015. But these figures are still floating because Bulgaria negotiated 30 bn cubic metres gas annually to pass through its territory.

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