Getting to it: South Stream partners prepare to seal the deal
South Stream partners ready deal
Russia's Gazprom will sign agreements to build the South Stream pipeline with all countries involved this Friday, Greece's development minister said today.
"On Friday in Sochi, Russia, an agreement will be signed between the Russian side and all the other participants, including Greece, as regards the companies involved in the construction of the South Stream pipeline," Reuters quoted Development Minister Costis Hatzidakis saying in a statement.
The Gazprom-led €10 billion ($13.65 billion) project aims to bring Russian, Caspian and Central Asian gas to Europe bypassing Ukraine, with which Russia has had pricing disputes.
Russia, Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia, Hungary and Italy are involved in the South Stream project.
South Stream must be operational by 2015, Russian ambassador to Greece Vladimir Chkhikvishvili said in the same statement, issued after he met Hatzidakis.
The project is seen as a rival to the European Union-backed Nabucco pipeline, which aims to reduce Europe's reliance on Russia for its energy supplies.
An Italian government source said earlier this month that there was a dispute between project leaders Eni and Gazprom over the role Eni would play in marketing the gas that flows through South Stream.