Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will head a delegation to Serbia and Slovenia on March 22-23 to discuss the implementation of the South Stream project and the European energy situation, deputy chief of the Russian government's office Yuri Ushakov said on Monday.
Communications Minister Igor Shchegolev, Agriculture Minister Yelena Skrynnik, and the head of Russian gas giant Gazprom Alexei Miller will be among the members of the delegation.
On Tuesday, the Russian delegation will visit Slovenia's capital of Ljubljana. "Cooperation is currently advancing intensively, we hope that [Putin's] visit will give it an impetus," Ushakov said on Russian-Slovenian relations.
The major goal of the Russian visit to Ljubljana is to sign a "shareholder agreement and the corporate charter of a project company to design, build and maintain the Slovenian segment of South Stream," Ushakov said.
Slovenia will become "one of the leading gas transit states in the Balkans" when its segment of South Stream is brought into operation, Minister Shchegolev said.
From Ljubljana, the Russian delegation will head to Belgrade. This will be Putin's second visit to Serbia since June 2001.
A number of documents concerning tourism, transportation and science are to be signed there.
MOSCOW, March 21 (RIA Novosti)
