South Stream focus of Moscow-Vienna talks

MOSCOW, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev welcomed Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann to Moscow on Tuesday to discuss natural gas supplies for Europe.

The Kremlin described natural gas supplies through the South Stream gas pipeline as a strategic option to stabilize the energy sector, RIA Novosti reports.

Moscow includes South Stream, along with its Nord Stream counterpart, as part of a plan to ease the transit burden on Ukraine, which hosts the bulk of the Russian gas bound for Europe currently. A January row between Kiev and Moscow sparked a gas crisis that still haunts the regional energy sector.

A government spokesman said both sides view South Stream as a means to bring stable gas supplies and ensure "unhindered transit" through southern Europe.

Russian gas monopoly Gazprom signed a series of South Stream initiatives with the Bulgarian, Greek and Serbian governments in May and has similar arrangements under way with Slovenia and Austria.

In September Austrian President Heinz Fischer suggested he was positive energy and commercial ties could improve with Moscow despite the lingering economic recession.

The $36.5 billion South Stream project is designed to bring 1.09 trillion cubic feet of gas to the Balkans each year.