The South Stream pipeline is among the issues that Slovenian Prime Minister Alenka Bratušek will discuss with President Vladimir Putin on her visit to Moscow in December. Russian gas company Gazprom is threatening to choose a route for the project which avoids Slovenia if Ljubljana insists on compliance with EU rules, reports Dnevnik.
The daily explains that the bone of contention between the Slovenian and Russian sides is the 2009 European Gas Directive, which requires pipeline owners to allow other market players to make use of their infrastructure under transparent conditions.
Dnevnik explains that Gazprom is opposed to this rule, which is why the Russian side “has intensified diplomatic and lobbying pressures on Slovenia in recent weeks” and expects a clear ‘yes’ to proceed with the project during Bratušek’s meeting with Putin.
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