BELGRADE, Serbia

Serbia is ready to join the TurkStream pipeline project, Serbia’s minister of mines and energy said on Friday.

"The possibility of 10 to 15 billion cubic meters of Russian gas from Turkey going on to Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, and Austria is a serious chance to improve energy security,” Aleksandar Antic told a two-day Eurasian Energy Security Forum in Serbia’s capital Belgrade.

“This will open up the possibility of developing gas and gas industries." 

Antic said construction of the pipeline will soon be completed, and Serbia joining the project would be a great opportunity for improving energy security for both the nation and the region. 

Serbia is ready for this opportunity, but it will need its "neighbors of Bulgaria and Hungary" to do so, he added.

Separately, Peter Sijarto, Hungary’s foreign and trade minister, said he sees no reason why the TurkStream could not continue towards Bulgaria, Serbia, and Hungary, also asking why the European Union has criticized the project.

The TurkStream project is an export gas pipeline set to cross beneath the Black Sea from Russia to Turkey and also further extend to Turkey's borders with neighboring countries.

TurkStream's first line is set to carry 15.75 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas to Turkey. The project will have a capacity of 31.5 bcm with a second line that will go to Europe.