Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said after talks with his Slovenian counterpart Alenka Bratusek that the intergovernmental agreements Russia signed for construction of the South Stream Pipeline were above the EU laws, according to international law, RIA Novosti reports.
The Russian Energy Ministry said on December 6 that it had received a letter from the European Commission with demands to reconsider agreements signed with transit states for construction of the pipeline. The European Commission insists that deals with Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, Greece, Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia violate EU laws.
Medvedev said that consultations will be organized to resolve the dispute. He added that any national laws should be beneficial, unlike the third energy package passed by the EU.
Bratusek said that South Stream was a very important project. She clarified that the Slovenian section of the pipeline will cost 1 billion euros. The Slovenian PM believes that the existing problems could be resolved in a dialogue between Russia and the EU. She concluded that Hungary, Bulgaria and Slovenia should form a common position on the project.
