Russia is planning to pay Greece large a multibillion advance against future profits from operating a gas pipeline that would pump Russian fuel through Turkey and Greece to the rest of Southern Europe, German magazine Spiegel reported.
The energy deal may be signed as soon as Tuesday next week, said a report citing a senior source in the Greek government. Figures quoted range from $3 billion to $5 billion.
It was discussed in detail during Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ visit to Moscow last week, Spiegel said. Earlier Greek and Russian officials said an energy deal that would have Greece join the Turkish stream project would be inked in a matter of days, but no exact date or particular terms were given.
The money from Russia, which Greece would be required to return after the pipeline goes online sometime in 2019, would help it deal with a looming national default. The new Greek government is in difficult negotiations with Germany and the International Monetary Fund to secure further loans to help its economy. Alexis Tsipras was elected in January on the promise of stopping painful austerity measures, which foreign creditors demand for loans to continue flowing.
Turkish Stream is a pipeline project that would carry Russian natural gas under the Black Sea into Turkey and Greece. Russia initiated it after scrapping the South Stream pipeline, which would have run through Bulgaria and other Balkan states, citing obstruction from the European Union as the reason for the move.
Moscow says it plans to stop pumping gas to Europe through Ukraine once the current transit contract expires. By that time, European consumers would have to complete necessary infrastructure to take Russian gas from Greece, or find another source, Russian officials warned.
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