October 9 (SeeNews) - Russia considers an option to build a leg from Turkish Stream gas pipeline to Bulgaria a priority, energy minister Alexander Novak said on Tuesday.
"For us, the priority option is the Bulgaria and Austria route," Novak said in an interview broadcast live by Russian TV station Rossiya 24.
Russia considers two options for the export of gas through Turkish Stream - one via Greece and Italy and one via Bulgaria, Serbia and Hungary to the Baumgarten hub in Austria.
Roadmaps have been agreed with Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary and Austria on the development of their gas transport infrastructure, Novak said. "All deadlines are aligned with the construction of the Turkish Stream."
In March, Bulgarian prime minister Boyko Borisov and Russian president Vladimir Putin discussed an option to build a leg from TurkStream gas pipeline to a planned gas hub near the coastal city of Varna and the opportunities for direct gas supplies for the it under mutually favourable terms and with full guarantees on the part of the European Commission.
Borisov also informed Putin that a gas interconnector between Bulgaria and Turkey is expected to be ready by June 1, 2018.
Both Serbia and Bulgaria are heavily dependent on Russian gas supplies. Bulgaria imports almost all the gas it needs via a single pipeline crossing Ukraine and Romania. Serbia too has just one gas supply route - from Russia via Ukraine and Hungary.