Special Envoy of the US State Department for energy matters Amos Hochstein will meet with the Greece's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Productive Reconstruction, Environment and Energy on Friday to discuss an alternative to Russia's Turkish Stream Pipeline project, the press services of those ministries told RIA Novosti.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia is willing to finance the construction of the Turkish Stream pipeline through Greece. Putin said in April that by joining the project Greece could become one of the main power distribution centers in Europe and earn hundreds of millions of euros a year from gas transit fees.
"The meeting, which will take place at Hochstein's initiative will begin at 9:30, energy topics which present a mutual interest will be discussed," the press service of the energy ministry told RIA Novosti.
The US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz previously said that the US is planning on presenting Greece with an alternative pipeline from Azerbaijan. According to Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias, the pipeline would include Bosnia and Albania.
'No One in the World'
The Russian offer and planned US counter-offer come less than a day after German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said that Greece should not look to China or Russia for a solution to its debt crisis.
"No one in the world is ready to even partially solve Greece's problems," Schaeuble said on Wednesday.
Greece has to make a $840 million payment to the IMF on May 12 out of a total of $4.05 billion that it owes for the year. The debt is part of the 2010 IMF bailout program for Greece.
The country's Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said that the country will make good on the payment.
http://sptnkne.ws/jmn
7/5/15
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Russia is ready to consider providing financing to Greek companies for construction of gas transportation system in Greece, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday...
ReplyDeleteDuring the phone conversation with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras both parties paid particular attention to joint infrastructure plans, as well as issues of energy cooperation, including the construction of the gas transportation system in Greece as part of a new project to transport Russian gas through Turkey to other European countries, the Kremlin press service said.
The press service also confirmed that Russia is ready to provide funding to Greek public and private companies that will be involved in this project.
Earlier today, Gazprom head Alexey Miller said that Russia and Turkey have reached an agreement to start putting the Turkish Stream gas pipeline into operation in December 2016. According to him, first gas supplies via the pipeline will also begin in December 2016. Miller added that Gazprom will take into account the agreement the company reached with Turkey in its schedule. Miller made his statement after meeting Turkey’s Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yeldez. Earlier Deputy Head of Gazprom Alexander Medvedev told TASS that the last section of the Turkish Stream will be built in 2020.
They also discussed Russian gas supplies to Turkey and the upgrade of the Blue Stream gas pipeline......http://tass.ru/en/economy/793474
7/5/15