Serbia has taken a major step towards reducing its dependence on Russian gas with the completion of an interconnector to a pipeline in Bulgaria.

This will allow the Balkan country to access gas supplies; moreover, it will allow Belgrade to access gas from Azerbaijan and the LNG terminal in the Greek port of Alexandroupolis.

“With this interconnector, we are securing alternative gas supplies, apart from Russian gas,” Serbian energy minister Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic stated. The launch ceremony was attended by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Bulgaria’s President Rumen Radev, who both emphasized the significance of the project.

The pipeline, which runs from the town of Novi Iskar in Bulgaria to the Serbian city of Nis, has a capacity of 1.8 cubic meters per year. This accounts for 60% of Serbia’s annual gas needs, providing a significant alternative to Russian gas.

The project came online with a generous donation of €49.6 million ($53.37 million) from the European Commission. An additional €25 million was secured through a loan from the European Investment Bank, while Serbia contributed €22.5 million.

“Today, we are changing the energy map of Europe. The interconnector is significant for the entire region. The war in Ukraine made us think about good neighborly relations and support,” said President Radev.

Serbia and Azerbaijan signed a deal on November 15 to purchase 400 million cubic meters of natural gas per year, starting in 2024.

President Aliyev highlighted that European countries now account for half of all Azerbaijan’s gas deliveries, stating, “If in 2021, our gas exports to Europe totaled a little more than 8 billion cubic meters, then this year the volume of supplies will reach around 12 billion cubic meters.”

He also noted that Baku is on track to double its gas supplies to Europe to 20 billion cubic meters by 2027.