South Stream gas pipeline to be laid on time - Gazprom's deputy CEO.

VENICE, December 12 (Itar-Tass) -- The construction of the South
Stream gas pipeline will proceed on time, although its schedule will be
far tighter than that of its northern twin Nord Stream, Gazprom's Deputy
CEO Alexander Medvedev said on Friday.

Asked by Itar-Tass if there was any chance Bulgaria might reconsider
the South Stream agreements, Medvedev said that such speculations should
be taken with certain allowances.
"We have the inter-governmental agreements and there are no reasons
for revising them," he said. "Also, there are alternative options. Romania
has taken great interest in the project's implementation."
Medvedev said Gazprom's management board expected no complications and
in his opinion his company had everything it needed for the project to be
a success.
"We have the technologies and we have reliable partners, ever more of
them," he said.
Gazprom's deputy CEO said that the work on the pipeline was proceeding
in keeping with the original schedule.
"Supplies are to begin in 2015 and we are determined to stick to this
schedule," Medvedev said. As compared with the Nord Stream schedule, this
one is stricter. 2015 is an absolutely realistic date," he said.


.Gazprom, ENI see no need for longer list of South Stream partners.

VENICE, December 12 (Itar-Tass) -- The top managements of Russia's gas
giant Gazprom and Italy's ENI - partners in the South Stream gas pipeline
project - see no immediate need for further expanding the original list of
participants, although they do not rule out such an opportunity altogether.
ENI's CEO Paolo Scaroni told the media he saw no realistic contenders
for participation in the project's implementation for the time being. For
his part, Gazprom's Deputy CEO Alexander Medvedev said that there was no
need for expanding the list of participants for now.
"As the experience of Nord Stream showed, there shouldn't be too many
partners. It is far more important for them to be professional,
self-confident and have the resources to translate the project into
reality," Medvedev said.
As far as the chances France's largest energy company Electricite de
France might be plugged into the project some day are concerned, Scaroni
and Medvedev see eye to eye.
"We are discussing the issue," Medvedev said. "EDF wishes to have a
stake of 10-20 percent, and this matches their gas import interest."
He speculated that the distribution of stakes will be decided in the
first quarter of this year.
At present Gazprom and ENI have 50 percent each. At this point the
participation of EDF in the under-sea section of the pipeline was on the
agenda. For his part, Scaroni said that a quota EDF would like to have,
the amount of gas proportionate to that quota and, lastly, the cost of
such participation were all still to be discussed.


.Russian Constitution stands test of time - Duma speaker.


MOSCOW, December 12 (Itar-Tass) -- The Russian Constitution, adopted
sixteen years ago, has stood the test of time, State Duma Speaker Boris
Gryzlov said on Friday.
"The Russian Constitution guarantees the rights and freedoms
recognized as inalienable in all advanced democratic states," the State
Duma's public relations department quotes Gryzlov as saying.
The effective fundamental law "ensures a civilized political process
and stable development of the country."
"Our common task is to take care of the constitutional system and to
exert concerted and creative effort to build a state ruled by law, a
strong and prospering Russia," Gryzlov said.
"The Constitution has become a factor for our political stability,"
said the State Duma's first deputy speaker, Oleg Morozov. "As it has
turned out, it enables us to carry out rather fundamental and far-reaching
political reforms."
"In other words, it allows for carrying out reforms without
interfering into the basic legal principles of our state proclaimed in the
Constitution," he said.
Asked by the media about his personal attitude to the date, Morozov
said that he did not regard Constitution Day as a full-fledged holiday.
"I am one of those who celebrate only three holidays - Victory Day,
New Year and March 8," Morozov said. "But Constitution Day is a date
important for me anyway. It gives me a chance to realize that I live in a
democratic country that has a constitution I respect."

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