Belgrade yet to be officially informed of S.Stream scrapping

Belgrade yet to be officially informed of S.Stream scrapping

Serbia is watching closely all the statements and reactions from Putin concerning South Stream, Antic told the Belgrade daily Vecernje Novosti. He pointed out that Putin's latest statements were seen mostly as a signal to EU members, since the construction of the pipeline depended on them.

The future of South Stream does not depend on Serbia, he said, explaining that an agreement between Brussels and Moscow was necessary for the project to be completed.

"I still expect all the issues to be resolved through dialogue and for the two sides to reach an agreement," he remarked.

South Stream is an extremely important project in terms of Serbia's energy stability and large part of the Serbian construction industry depends on the project for work, but, unfortunately, Serbia has no influence on its future, he stated.

The European Commission is reluctant to approve the South Stream project, which is meant to supply Southern Europe with gas by going through Bulgaria and bypassing Ukraine, Putin said at a joint news conference after a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday.

If Europe does not wish South Stream to be completed, then it will not be completed, Putin stated, adding that it was against Europe's economic interest and would cause damage.

The EU is pressuring Bulgaria, which gets a third of its gas supply from Russia, Putin stressed.