OREANDA-NEWS. The continuation of the “Turkish Stream” gas pipeline in Serbia has begun to be filled with gas, Interfax reports, citing a source familiar with the situation.

Deliveries on it should start from January 1, 2021. They will make it possible to completely stop pumping Russian gas to the republic through Ukraine. At the next stage, gas from the Turkish Stream is to reach Hungary, and later to Austria.

Initially, it was assumed that the continuation of the Turkish Stream would be launched a year ago, along with the gas pipeline itself running along the bottom of the Black Sea. However, the courts between the builders and the coronavirus pandemic have delayed work in Bulgaria.

Earlier, the Bulgarian company Bulgartransgaz confirmed that it would be possible to start pumping gas by January. The daily volume of supplies will be able to reach 15 million cubic meters.

A year ago, the country's President Vladimir Putin was forced to intervene in the situation regarding the speed of construction of the Bulgarian property. Then the problem was resolved, but in February the work was suspended again.

In March 2020, the parties signed a new contract for supplies to Bulgaria. The Prime Minister of the Republic Boyko Borisov announced a 40 percent discount, which he managed to get from Moscow. The politician called this decision a “gift,” and Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova thanked the European Commission for its assistance in the negotiations, which made it possible to achieve an impressive result.

After that, Borisov promised to complete the construction by the end of the year. However, a new problem is the section of the gas pipeline in Serbia. Sources do not exclude that the construction of the route along which supplies to Hungary should go will be delayed until the spring of 2021.