Slovenia still plans to build S. Stream pipeline

Slovenia still plans to build S. Stream pipeline

LJUBLJANA, BANJA LUKA, SOFIA -- The Slovenian company Plinovodi, a partner of Russia's Gazprom, will continue the construction of South Stream in Slovenia, Beta reported.

This comes despite Russian President Vladimir Putin and Gazprom announcing that the project was abandoned.

The reason Plinovodi intents to press ahead is that "no official information about this has come from the Russian side," the agency reported.

Meanwhile in the Serb entity of Bosnia-Herzegovina, its president Milorad Dodik said he "did not believe Russia's decision to drop the South Stream project was final, considering that a lot of money had been invested."

"This is not good news and what the European Union is doing is not fair. Naturally, I understand what strategic interests are and all this is part of the political fight between the West and Russia over Ukraine," Dodik told reporters.

Bulgaria - which Putin said postponed the project and was "not behaving like an independent country" - denied its responsibility for the failure of the South Stream project.

"It is clear to everyone that South Stream was not just a Bulgarian-Russian project, but a project of Russia and the European Union... Decisions are solely up to Russia and the EU," Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev told reporters.

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said Putin's announcement was "bad news for Serbia," but added citizens "should not worry about the supply of gas."

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic stated in Brussels that Serbia hoped that a deal would be made between the EU and Russia about the construction of the South Stream gas pipeline, in subsequent...