Greece supports the implementation and development of the Southern Gas Corridor project, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Saturday, after the talks with Greek Minister of Environment and Energy Panagiotis Skourletis.
THESSALONIKI (Sputnik) — The Southern Gas Corridor is expected to extend to over 2,000 miles, carrying natural gas from the Caspian Sea across Azerbaijan and Georgia into Turkey and on through Greece and Albania into southern Italy. The project is backed by the United States and the European Commission, and is considered by them as a competitor to the Turkish Stream project.
"We have just discussed [the Southern Gas Corridor] with [the Greek] energy minister. The Greek side fully supports the feasibility and necessity of this project. As it is known, we signed the road map in the past year between the two ministries on the implementation of this project," Novak told RIA Novosti.
He recalled that the two sides had a working group in the framework of the memorandum, and the two ministers had discussed specific practical steps to provide for further action.
Novak added that the implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor was highly dependent on the approval of the European authorities and partners involved in the project.
In February, Russia's energy giant Gazprom, Italy's Edison SpA and the Greek gas company DEPA SA signed a memorandum of understanding on deliveries of Russian natural gas across the Black Sea through third countries to Greece and from Greece to Italy. The agreement revives the Interconnector Turkey–Greece–Italy (ITGI) project, formerly planned as a part of the Southern Gas Corridor.
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Novak added that the implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor was highly dependent on the approval of the European authorities and partners involved in the project.
In February, Russia's energy giant Gazprom, Italy's Edison SpA and the Greek gas company DEPA SA signed a memorandum of understanding on deliveries of Russian natural gas across the Black Sea through third countries to Greece and from Greece to Italy. The agreement revives the Interconnector Turkey–Greece–Italy (ITGI) project, formerly planned as a part of the Southern Gas Corridor.
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