AUDIO - Voice of Russia: South Stream route: business hand in hand with politics
The South Stream gas pipeline is planned to span over 2,300 km and cross multiple countries and various geographies. The pipeline's route has been changed several times since it was officially announced back in 2007. Currently, six European countries are involved in the project.
The 925-km long offshore section of South Stream will originate on the Russian Black Sea shore in the area of Anapa, cross the Turkish Exclusive Economic Zone in the Black Sea and land on the Bulgarian coast near Varna. The 1,500-km long onshore section will go from Bulgaria, through Greece, Serbia, Hungary, Slovenia, ending up in Italy.
It's exactly Bulgaria that will see the pipeline starting its European route, which makes the country the key element in the routing scheme. The working relationship with the country hasn't been easy from the very start. Yet, there are other options, says Aleksei Grivach, deputy head of the National Energy Security Fund.