Slovakian natural gas
pipeline operator Eustream is planning to build a new pipeline that will reach
Turkey through Ukraine, according to Russian media.
“The new pipeline
will be called Eastring,” Eustream spokesperson Vahram Chuguryan told TASS, as
reported in news agency Anadolu Ajansi on Thursday.
The new pipeline
will start at the Slovakia-Ukraineborder and reach the border between Turkey
and Bulgaria.
“Eastring, which will have a capacity of 20 billion cubic
metres, will be an important contribution to Eastern Europe’s energy security,”
Chuguryan said, adding that Eustream will also offer some European companies a
partnership in the pipeline project.
The news follows Russia's decision
in early December to abandon the South Stream gas pipeline, spearheaded by
Gazprom, which had been planned to carry gas from Russia to central and southern
Europe via Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary and Slovenia.