![]() ![]() Gazprom began shipping gas through TurkStream to Bulgaria, Serbia, North Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina in early January 2020, and Hungary is now importing Russian gas from Serbia through a pipeline with a capacity of 8.5 bcm per year. As part of its strategy to bypass Ukraine and discontinue use of the Trans-Balkan pipeline through Ukraine and Moldova, Russia built with Turkey the two-line TurkStream pipeline with one line a 15.75 billion-cubic-meter (bcm) pipeline to Bulgaria with onward links to Serbia, North Macedonia, and Hungary. Gazprom exports natural gas to Serbia, North Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina through Bulgaria. Russia’s role in the Western Balkansĭuring the Ukraine war, Russia has continued its efforts to destabilize the Western Balkans using its pro-Russian allies, especially in Serbia and the Republic of Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina, whose governments have not joined the Western sanctions process against Russia. The West needs to maintain a strong and supportive posture in this important southern flank of NATO. Although a very minor consumer of Russian natural gas, the Western Balkans is an area in which Russia has sought to oppose NATO and EU expansion and counter Western gas diversification efforts. ![]() Western support for the Southern Corridor and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline has long been an important element of European gas diversification efforts. The Russian cut-off of gas supplies to several European nations-Poland and Bulgaria first, followed by Finland, Netherlands, and Denmark-and the reductions by Gazprom of gas to Italy (15 percent) and Germany (40 percent through Nord Stream) have raised the urgency of phase-out and diversification. Russia’s brutal and unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine has galvanized action to reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian oil, gas, coal, and nuclear fuel. ![]()
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