Russia concerned about Europe freezing South Stream project

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a meeting with his Finnish counterpart Erkki Tuomioja that the South Stream pipeline project was a political hostage of the EU. Lavrov clarified that the project will be unfrozen in exchange for recognition of the new Kiev authorities.

Vyacheslav Kulagin, the director of the Center for Studies of World Energy Markets of the RAS Institute for Energy Studies, called the situation an act of political pressure from the EU and the U.S. Acording to the expert, Russia has nothing to do other than negotiating. In his words, the project cannot be stopped because a lot of funds have been invested.

Yuri Stankevich, deputy head of the RUIE Committee for the Energy Policy and Energy Efficiency, emphasized that Bulgaria and Serbia were especially dependent on Russian gas and had no other import sources. He expressed hope that the two states would not freeze the project de facto.