After the announcement by Russian President Vladimir Putin that Russia was forced to withdraw from the project South Stream, because the European Union doesn’t want to support the construction of the pipeline, reactions by several concerned parties arrived today.
– If European Union doesn’t want to implement the project South Stream, then it won’t be implemented. In fact, not only the European Commission didn’t provide assistance in the implementation of the project, but it created obstacles – said Putin.
Macedonian Government still hasn’t responded to this decision of Putin, claims Radio Free Europe, analyzing whether the energy security of the country was shaken since the Government’s hopes were directed to the Russian project.
– Macedonia must now find a way to connect to a current pipeline or any other potential piplane which would pass in our vicinity – says Professor Atanasko Tuneski, who believes that, in the meantime, the country should negotiate to join other pipelines, for Radio Free Europe.
During the visit of Russia by the Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski in June 2012, an agreement was reached that a branch of South Stream would pass through Macedonia. Then, as announced by the Prime Minister, Gazprom prepared a draft agreement for inclusion of Macedonia in the project South Stream. At the meeting between Gruevski and the director of Gazprom, Alexei Miller, it was announced that the two interlocutors expressed satisfaction with the current cooperation and willingness and commitment to intensify the process for the inclusion of Macedonia in this project.
According to Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dachik, the pipeline is very important for Serbia, because the country has no alternative route for supply but the one from Ukraine.
He hopes that an agreement between the European Union and Russia for the construction of the gas pipeline South Stream would be reached with further talks.
