Ukraine has suggested to Russia to expand its gas transit to Europe by upgrading the Ukrainian gas transport system, which will be much cheaper than constructing the South Stream pipeline.
"As for the South Stream project, we have an alternative which we will offer to our Russian partners. The issue is about modernizing our southern gas pipelines, which will raise their capacity to the one planned for South Stream," Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said.
"This project will cost $1 billion, unlike the $25 billion for South Stream," he said.
The Ukrainian gas transport system currently transfers 80% of Russian gas to Europe.
The South Stream pipeline will transport Russian gas to Western Europe bypassing Ukraine. The offshore part, operated by Russia's Gazprom and Italy's ENI, will run for 900 km (559 miles) from Russia's mainland under the Black Sea to the Bulgarian coast and carry up to 63 billion cubic meters of gas a year.
The launch of the gas pipeline is scheduled for December 2015.
Intergovernmental agreements have been signed between Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia and Austria for the implementation of the section of the pipeline that will run over land.
MOSCOW, August 4 (RIA Novosti)
