Russia will not take any serious steps to prevent the implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor project, with Nabucco being part of it, Joseph Diskin, Co-Chairman of the National Strategy Council of Russia, told NEWS.am. Any such action on Russia’s part will heighten tension in Russia-EU relations, while Moscow’s major task in its relations with EU is maintaining and developing good neighborly ties.

“The project may fail, however, without Russia’s participation – it involves numerous risks. The region has a Kurdish problem, and the Middle East as a whole remains a risky region, with tension now rising now easing there. The factors in question may prevent further development of the project,” the expert said.

As to the reasons why the EU, particularly José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, ignore the facts and persist, Distin said that José Manuel Barroso is an adherent to the old views of the “Bush era”, EU’s out-of-date approach to Russia, which is not quite in line with the present-day relations between the two sides. “It is his long-standing stance – Russia is a source of everything negative,” the expert said.

NEWS.am reminds readers that, on the threshold of his visit to Azerbaijan, the President of the European Commission stated that the EU was interested in ensuring long-term stability and diversifying the supplies of energy resources to Europe. He announced his intention to spare no efforts toward implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor project, which would supply gas from the Caspian region to European consumers.

José Manuel Barroso, accompanied by Günther Oettinger, European Commissioner for Energy, is scheduled to visit Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan on January 13-15.