France to join "Južni tok" project - energy cooperation between Paris and Moscow

(Vladimir Putin and Francois Fion)

Dmitrij Peskov, the representative of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, confirmed that France was interested in participating in "Južni tok" gas pipeline project. As he explained, that was the theme of the meeting between Mr Putin and Francois Fion, the Prime Minister of France, in the Russian Prime Minister's residence in Novo-Ogarjovo.

According to Moscow's newspaper "Komersant", the agreement may be signed already at the end of the next month when Aleksej Miler, the CEO of Russian "Gazprom", is expected to visit France.

French company "Elektricite de France" (EdF) would obtain the share of 10% in "Južni Tok" in return for long-term contract on delivery of gas to its power plants. "Južni tok", in which the main partner of "Gazprom" is Italian energy group ENI, will go under the Black Sea, through Russia, Bulgaria and Serbia, to Austria, and Italy and Greece in the south. This project has recently been backed by Turkey as well.

This gas pipeline is the rival to project "Nabuko", which is a Europen Union's project for construction of gas pipeline that would deliver gas from the Caspian Sea to Europe via Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary. In the meantime, French energy group GDF SUEZ is close to end negotiations on gas pipeline "Severni tok" where German groups BASF and EON joined "Gazprom" in the efforts to connect Russia and Germany through the Baltic.