Russian and American diplomats measured swords at the 2nd International Meeting for Energy Dialogue in Thessaloniki this week. Greece’s gas links with Russia were at the epicentre.
Daneil Speckhard, the American ambassador in Greece, said Greece is taking a risk at it depends for 80% of its natural gas needs on Gazprom, Russia’s monopoly supplier. The gas would reach Greece through the projected South Stream pipeline.
Speckhard suggested that rival solution – the projected Nabucco gas pipeline to start in Turkey and supply 45bn cubic metres of natural gas a year to Europe – as more competitive and not subject to state monopoly pressures.
Greece and Russia signed an agreement earlier this year to promote the South Stream pipeline. American diplomats argue that this will only strengthen Gazprom’s already considerable influence in the market.
Arguing to the contrary was Mikhail Sava, the Russian charge d’affaires, who defended Greece’s right to “diversify” its energy sources. Russia, he said, sits on 55% of the global natural gas reserves.
One factor is Greece’s choosing the Gazprom option was political pressure at home, as the national media claimed that to join Nabucco would to place the nation “as a hostage of Turkey.”
(balkaneconomy.com 05/23/2008)