30/7 Tass 346 A
LJUBLJANA, July 30 (Itar-Tass) — Slovenia suggests setting up a special body to develop energy cooperation between Russia and Slovenia.
“Russia occupies the 13th place in Slovenia’s trade turnover with foreign countries. We certainly have more trade relations with the EU countries, including Croatia, Germany, Serbia, Italy and Austria. But when trade with Russia is in question, it’s not a rush for quantity but for improvement in quality,” Pavel Gantar, the speaker of the Slovenian parliament, told Itar-Tass on Saturday. He urged Russian entrepreneurs to be bolder in entering the Slovenian market.
Gantar also said that Slovenia was interested in developing cooperation with Russia under the South Stream project.
“This is a vital project for Russia and Slovenia, for the entire region and the EU countries,” he emphasized.
“The gas crisis that occurred two years ago showed that we should think about diversification and reliability of resources,” Gantar went on to say. He added that it would be good to set up a special joint body to supervise cooperation between Russia and Slovenia in the energy sphere.
Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor also echoed this viewpoint in his interview with Itar-Tass on Saturday.
“Russia and Slovenia developed cooperation without any negative experience or prejudices,” Prime Minister Pahor said.
“Europe’s energy policy is undergoing substantial changes: it’s aimed at stable development of the energy sector, the cutting of greenhouse gas emissions and the use of new technologies. We are planning to diversify energy sources and develop thermal and nuclear power stations,” the Slovenian prime minister said.