Serbian President Calls Western Stance On Russian Gas Transit Via Balkans 'Hypocritical'

Faizan Hashmi Published January 18, 2019 | 10:55 PM

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic slammed on Friday Western countries for what he described as a hypocritical position on gas transit from Russia via the Balkan states

BELGRADE (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th January, 2019) Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic slammed on Friday Western countries for what he described as a hypocritical position on gas transit from Russia via the Balkan states.

A day after his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Vucic pointed out that all of the alternatives to Russian gas transit, including via Azerbaijan, did not provide enough volumes and were more expensive. Belgrade is interested in participating in the extension of the TurkStream gas pipeline after the South Stream gas pipeline, designed to transport Russian gas through the Black Sea to the Balkans, had to be abandoned due to the European Union's Third Energy Package, which stipulated that companies engaged in gas production could not be owners of the main pipelines located in the region.

"What a hypocritical position ... Germany is very firm and Chancellor Angela Merkel is making no concessions despite the US pressure [aimed at undermining] the Nord Stream 2 [gas pipeline project]," Vucic said.

He pointed out that Germany had finished all the work needed to receive gas from the new Russian pipeline.

"So, the EU countries have a right to get this gas, so why are we, the Serbs, deprived of this right? The transit route could pass through Serbia. Gas would later be transported to Bosnia and Herzegovina, despite the fact that we are not controlling the territory of Kosovo and Metohija now, and also to Montenegro via Kosovo and Croatia," Vucic said.

He also spoke about opportunities for Serbia to get gas from Turkey via TurkStream and from pipelines that are transporting Russian gas via Ukraine.

Nord Stream 2 is a joint venture of Gazprom and five European companies. It aims to deliver 55 billion cubic meters (1.9 trillion cubic feet) of Russian gas annually to the European Union. The project has been welcomed by some countries in Europe and opposed by others that feel it might increase their dependence on Russia.