Interview by Vladimir Nesterov. Exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza
The deputy head of the Federation Council committee on international affairs, senator Vladimir Dzhabarov told Vestnik Kavkaza about South Stream and its alternative.
- On December 9 there was a meeting of the European Commission, an interesting one and, to my mind, a strange one. The representatives of the EU countries discussed the construction of South Stream, although Russia has decided not to build it. Why did they do that? What was the point? And the results?
- I think, that for many of our western partners the statement by Vladimir Putin, made in Turkey, that South Stream does not exist anymore, was surprising or rather unexpected. Why? As our president said, the refusal of Bulgaria, it is just an attempt to cheat on us and to blackmail us, to press for some concessions, to make us join the third energy package. It came unexpectedly for our Western partners. We saw the negative wave in the media, first of all, in Bulgaria, Serbia, Austria and other countries that were the virtual participants of this project. And they went to Brussels to discuss it. And we know that yesterday Russian Minister of Energy Novak said officially that the South Stream project does not exist anymore. I think that Russia is just fed up with this blackmailing that has lasted for several years. Gazprom was preparing for this project by creating the appropriate infrastructure in the Black Sea. But it was being postponed, and we got fed up with it and took the decision to forget about this project and start a new one. This will be a new branch to Turkey along its western coastline, where we plan to create a powerful western hub where western consumers can buy gas.
- Let’s discuss the position of Bulgaria, a strange one, to my mind. On the one hand, this is the cornerstone, it was Bulgaria that did not give permission for the construction of the pipeline on its territory. But when Russia decided to close the project, the Bulgarian president and prime minister immediately started to speak in support of South Stream. And they are still in favour of their gas distribution station in Varna. It is unclear why they need to sit on two chairs. To please the European Commission, on the one hand, and to support South Stream, on the other.
- I would like to mention some events of the past to answer this question. You know that Bulgaria was a part of Turkey from the end of the 14th till the end of the 19th century. And it was the Russian army that brought it independence and statehood. It is bitter to remember that Bulgaria was against Russia in World War One. Bulgaria supported Hitler in World War Two. And it was only in 1944, when the Soviet Army was close to the Bulgarian border, that it left this alliance with Hitler. But I don’t want to remember this, because we always considered them as brothers. Brotherly people, Orthodox. Russians and Soviets always had warm feelings towards Bulgarians. In my youth there was a joke “A chicken is not a bird, Bulgaria is not a foreign country.” Most of our tourist trips were to Bulgaria. They loved us there. But when the Eastern Block fell apart, Bulgaria was among the first countries that joined NATO. Bulgaria supported all the sanctions and did not oppose them. And now Bulgaria again followed its older brothers from the EU. And when three American senators, including McCain, visited Bulgaria, its prime minister decided to stop the work on South Stream. Bulgarians lost at least 400 million euros per year from the transportation of gas through South Stream. For such a small country with such a small budget, 400 million euros is a big sum. But they decided against it and now they will buy gas for higher prices from Turkey or elsewhere. They now propose reanimating the project of the Southern Gas Corridor, which raises serious doubts. I can explain. They want to diversify gas supplies and link it to the pipelines of the Caspian to have gas from Turkmenistan and Iran. But here Azerbaijan is a more plausible supplier. But if we compare South Stream with the Southern Gas Corridor, its capacity is four times bigger. As for liquefied gas, this market is almost depleted. Liquefied gas goes mostly to Japan and South-East Asia, and Turkmenistan is oriented towards China. Turkmen gas will not go in that stream. Only Azerbaijani gas is left, but it can cover only 10% of Europe’s needs. So these projects don’t have the gas. Only Russia has the gas. Whatever the European Commission says – by the way, the European Commissioner for Energy Union, Maros Sevcovic, is a graduate of the Moscow Institute for Foreign Relations – they will have to come to Russia. It is unclear why they think that Russia is their enemy. Russia is their business partner that is ready to interact with all countries.
- By the way, Vladimir Putin advised Bulgaria to request compensation from the EU. Other participants in the project also supported this idea. But, as was said at the meeting of the European Commission, there will be no compensation. The President also said that instead of South Stream an alternative line to Turkey could be constructed. What prospects could this have for Russia and Turkey?
- It has good prospects for Turkey, because it will get gas from different sources - from Russia, from Azerbaijan, possibly from Iran. Iran is ready for some supplies. Turkey is becoming a receiver of gas. This is what they have been dreaming of for decades. It increases their role for the EU, which they want to join. This is their dream. For about 50 years Turkey has been associated with the EU, but they are still not its members.
- They have already printed the money.
- Yes, everything was ready. So I see real prospects and benefits for Turkey. As for the benefit for Russia, it exists, but it's not very big. By the way, even South Stream was not so profitable for Russia. But the point was that both the EU and we were fed up with the constant gas blackmailing by Ukraine. All those gas wars, gas theft, conflicts and problems.
- And spoiled winter holidays each year.
- Indeed. I know, many of my colleagues work in Gazprom. Everyone is celebrating but they still decide the question about gas supplies to Ukraine on December 31. It was a solution to get rid of dependence on Ukraine. But it would be a tragedy for Ukraine. If Ukraine is no longer the main conduit of gas, its role decreases, it is no longer interesting to anyone. Neither are those metal pipes, completely rusty, by the way, because they were never repaired. Nobody needs it. I think that the Americans were of course against South Stream because they want Russia to depend on Ukraine and keep some instability there. I think that the Europeans, when they supported their big brother, made a mistake here.
To be continued
