The official launch of the Balkan Stream, the continuation of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline to Serbia, will not take place on December 30, 2020, as announced. It was postponed to January 1 of the following year. The reason for this decision is not specified, reports TASS citing the Serbian agency Tanug.
Even on the eve of the President of the Republic Alexander Vuchich claimed that gas would be released on Wednesday , and before that, during negotiations with the head of Russian Foreign Ministry Sergei Lavrov named 29 or 30 December as possible dates. According to the latest information, the ceremony will take place at 6 am local time (8 Moscow time) in the Zhabal municipality.
Two weeks ago, Bulgaria promised that the “Balkan Stream” would be ready for the New Year. The prompt launch avoids the US sanctions that threaten the companies involved in the Turkish Stream project.
Construction on the Bulgarian territory was accompanied by a number of scandals. Initially, it was the position of Bulgaria that led to the completion of the South Stream project, which was later transformed into the current project.
However, the situation with the “Balkan Stream” was not the best. A year ago, the Russian president Vladimir Putin accused the republic of deliberately delaying work. All problems were resolved only after the countries signed a new contract for gas supply in which Bulgaria achieved the maximum discount for itself.