Croatia has proposed to Russia that the massive South Stream gas pipeline to Europe also passes through its territory, Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor was quoted as saying Wednesday.
"I presented [Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin] our proposal that the South Stream pipeline passes also through Croatia," Kosor said in a Jutarnji List daily report.
Kosor was speaking after meeting Putin Tuesday in the Polish port city of Gdansk where they both attended ceremonies marking 70 years since the outbreak of World War II.
South Stream is on the drawing board with another project, Nord Stream, that Russia is developing, aimed at consolidating its commanding position in supplies of gas to Europe and avoiding problematic transit through Ukraine.
In 2008, Croatia consumed 3.4 billion cubic meters of natural gas. The former Yugoslav republic produces about 60% of its own natural gas while the remaining 40% is imported from Russia.
Earlier this year, Croatia was among countries hit when a fresh dispute over transit broke out between Russia and Ukraine.