Tag: South Stream
The worsening situation on the fronts of the energy wars is forcing those directly involved and all other interested parties to revise their previous approaches. Signs that Bulgaria intends to resume construction of the South Stream gas pipeline project are a good example. In a New Year interview, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov admitted that the South Stream gas pipeline project was in the interests of his country, but had been halted as a result of interference by the US and the European Union, even though both the US and Europe knew that the project would be beneficial to Bulgaria, according to Borissov…
…The year 2019, when Russian gas will bypass Ukraine and go through Turkey, will be here soon. Somewhere that is well understood. In particular, in Hungary. The prime minister of that country, Viktor Orban, stated that anti-Russian sanctions «were in conflict with Hungary’s interests,» and that he intends, in his words, «to come to terms with Russia on a gas agreement» during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest. Putin arrives in the Hungarian capital on February 17th.
The status of South Stream and the newly announced Russia-Turkey gas deal is much more than it seems. It is primarily about putting the brakes on what has slowly been developing into the next world war.
In the next few years, Russia’s decision to put a stop to the South Stream project will become a deciding factor in how the energy situation develops not just in Europe, but in the whole of the Eurasian continent… European players in the gas market are looking for ways to expand their energy cooperation with Russia, despite attempts by the European Commission to sabotage their aspirations. The Slovak gas transmission system operator Eustream is planning to build a pipeline from Slovakia to the Bulgarian-Turkish border, so is hurrying to join a new plan for the transportation of Russian gas to Europe through Turkey. It is the first specific consequence of revised plans to build the South Stream pipeline…