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Romania Supports Serbia Joining AGRI Gas Pipeline Project

Romania Supports Serbia Joining AGRI Gas Pipeline Project
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Τρι, 1 Νοεμβρίου 2011 - 18:53
Romania will support Serbia's bid to join the AGRI pipeline project aimed at supplying gas from the Caspian Sea to central European countries, President Traian Basescu said here Tuesday.
Romania will support Serbia 's bid to join the AGRI pipeline project aimed at supplying gas from the Caspian Sea to central European countries, President Traian Basescu said here Tuesday.

"It is vital for our bilateral relations to implement economic projects and...I will support Serbia to join the [AGRI] project," Basescu told reporters after the talks with his Serbian counterpart Boris Tadic in Belgrade .

Azerbaijan , Georgia , and Romania , later joined by Hungary , have launched the AGRI liquefied natural gas project which aims to transport Azerbaijani gas by pipeline to Georgia 's Black Sea coast. There the gas will be liquefied and shipped by tankers to the Romanian coast where it will be converted back into gas and pumped into Romania's pipeline system and onward to European Union territory.

"We are interested in Serbia taking part in the project," Tadic said.

The two presidents also discussed projects to build a power plant on the Danube , the so-called Djerdap 3. Belgrade has been studying the possibilities of constructing an additional power plant for years, but the plans have been stalled due to lack of funds.

"Djerdap 3 is important for both Serbia and Romania ," Basescu said, adding that such a project could help Serbia to speed up its European integration.

Basescu stressed that Bucharest would continue to "wholeheartedly" support Serbia 's EU entry "as soon as possible."

Belgrade hopes to gain candidacy status in December but the ongoing crisis in northern Kosovo could hamper its EU integration.

EU-mediated talks between Belgrade and Pristina were interrupted in September following violent incidents in Kosovo's Serb-populated north, which left several North Atlantic Treaty Organization-led troops and local Serbs injured. But Brussels has stressed that the dialogue must resume if Serbia wants to get EU candidacy status in December.

Kosovo unilaterally proclaimed independence from Serbia in 2008, but Belgrade has rejected the move. Romania is among five EU member-countries that have also not recognized Kosovo and Basescu said Tuesday his country "remained firm in our initial stance."

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