Sozcu: Greece and Bulgaria are discussing a plan to bypass Turkey

The setting of a maximum price for Russian oil by the European Union and the increase in transit fees in the Bosphorus Strait has mobilized Greece, which has been experiencing tensions with Turkey for a long time, notes Turkish website sozcu.com.tr (from where the photo, above).

Back to the drawing board

According to reports by the Qatar-based television network Al Jazeera, Greece and Bulgaria are back at the table to plan an alternative gas pipeline to the Straits, which was previously abandoned.

Speaking to Al Jazeera about the talks, Bulgarian Energy Minister Roman Christov said the 280km pipeline planned to be built between the ports of Alexandroupolis on the Aegean and Burgas on the Black Sea could be extended to Romania.

He pointed out that his country is exempt from the sanctions on Russian oil for two years, but they will face problems due to the increase of tolls in the Straits, and he stressed that for this reason they have resumed the talks on the design of the Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline .

Greek Energy Minister Kostas Skrekas also expressed his support for the plan.

Straights tanker logjam

Britain’s Financial Times reported that due to a price cap imposed by the West on Russian oil, Russian oil tankers coming from the Black Sea had piled up in the Straits in recent days and Ankara wanted new “insurance guarantees” from all vessels.

The new sanction implemented by the EU is expected to cause greater disruption to oil shipments by ship.

The Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline project was first put on the agenda in 1993 and the two countries signed an agreement with Russia in 2007.

However, it was abandoned in 2010 amid Bulgarian environmental concerns and US objections over dependence on Russian energy.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Greek oil industry expert Michalis Myrianthis said there are serious delays in crossing the Straits and the pipeline plan is a good solution.

USA and Alexandroupolis

It was also reported in the media that Turkey in October quintupled the fees for oil tankers passing through the Bosphorus.

Al Jazeera commented that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine increased the geopolitical rivalry between Turkey and Greece.

It has been reported several times in the media that the US saw the port of Alexandroupolis in Greece as an alternative to the Straits and began to actively use it for military missions to NATO countries, the Turkish publication concludes.