Macedonia may join Russia’s South Stream pipeline

Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov said after meeting his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev in St Petersburg on Friday (June 18th) that energy giant Gazprom has agreed to include Macedonia in the South Stream gas pipeline project. “This will allow us a chance to get chap energy sources, which would mean energy stability for the country,” Ivanov stated after the meeting that was held on the sidelines of an International Economic Forum. The 900km facility — scheduled to open in 2015 — will connect Russia to the Balkans, where the route will then split north and south. The link intentionally bypasses Ukraine, to avoid recurring disputes over gas supplies that have curbed Russian deliveries to Europe in recent years.