South Stream: Russians Recognise RS on Pipeline Map!?

Aleksandar Vučić, Prime Minister of Serbia, stated today at a press conference in Belgrade that Serbia has not made a decision to postpone the construction of the South Stream pipeline, even though his deputy Zorana Mihajlović made that statement this morning, reports the Bosnian news agency Patria (NAP).

Vučić clarified that the government has not made any decision and that, as far as they are concerned, the project is proceeding as planned. However, the project has already stalled in Bulgaria, which received an order from Brussels to align it with European Union regulations. This has automatically halted further construction until the dispute is resolved.

- Bulgaria is the hub, so until the talks between Bulgaria and Brussels, and the European Union and Russia, are concluded, we are probably forced to wait as well. Or until Russia changes the route. But in any case, the result of either scenario likely means a delay in the works in our country – stated Minister Mihajlović this morning.

However, Vučić only said that the government had not convened and that no decision had been made. Incidentally, the entire case has drawn significant attention from Russian media, especially Russia Today, a media corporation that also published a map of South Stream. According to that map, part of the pipeline goes to Republika Srpska.

Why the Russians, instead of naming the state that should connect to the pipeline in this case, mentioned the name of the entity, has not been clarified. However, the insistence of RS President Milorad Dodik on the construction of South Stream, which is not of key importance for BiH, suggests that there are political motives behind it all, reports Patria.