Bulgaria’s Lawmaker Hopes Russia’s Decision on South Stream Not Final

© Sputnik / Ramil Sitdikov / Go to the mediabankPreparation for the launching ceremony of South Stream gas pipeline construction.
Preparation for the launching ceremony of South Stream gas pipeline construction. - Sputnik International
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Bulgarian lawmaker hopes that it is still possible to reach an agreement with the European Commission on the South Stream gas pipeline project.

The South Stream gas project would be very beneficial for Serbia and its cancellation may cause serious damage to the country, the President of the Serbian Gas Association Assembly told Sputnik Serbia Tuesday. - Sputnik International
Cancelled South Stream Project to Seriously Damage Serbia: Gas Association
MOSCOW, December 2 (Sputnik) — Russia's position on the South Stream project may be a warning, and a chance still exists to find a compromise with the European Commission, a Bulgarian member of parliament told Sputnik Tuesday.

"It is important to understand whether it is a warning from Russia and whether there will be some other options. May be, we will still manage to reach an agreement with the European Commission," member of the National Assembly of Bulgaria Yanaki Stoilov said.

December 1, 2014. Russian President Vladimir Putin takes part in the fifth meeting of the High-Level Russian-Turkish Cooperation Council in Ankara. - Sputnik International
Putin:Russia Cannot Continue South Stream Construction in Current Situation
"From my point of view, it is the government's behavior that is important. However, everything is already clear – it is a complex situation," he added.

On December 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia was not willing to continue with the South Stream project in light of the European Commission's "non-constructive" stance on the matter. Russian energy giant Gazprom CEO later announced that Russia was terminating the project due to the EU opposition to it and had no plans to revive it.

South Stream construction kicks off - Sputnik International
European Commission's Position on South Stream Remains Unchanged
In 2012 Gazprom announced the construction of a South Stream pipeline across the Black Sea to reduce the chances of Russian gas being delivered to central and southern Europe through Ukraine being interrupted. The pipeline was expected to be fully operational by 2018.

The European Commission has taken a critical stance on the project. Brussels has long endeavored to hamper the project, saying it violates the European Union's Third Energy Package, which stipulates that pipelines in its member countries cannot belong to natural gas producers. Moscow insisted that the construction of the pipeline does not contradict the regulations.

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