Teheran sentences the pipeline will allow Iran and Syria to throw International community's isolation. The example of Southstream as a pipeline built because of political reasons
A pipeline to try to be less international isolated. On Monday 11/19 Iran declared the start of a 1200 km long pipeline from Iran to Syria via Iraq.
Iran and Syria already signed an agreement on July 2012, but the pipeline, which requires a 10 Milliards USD investment, is now a geopolitical priority for these two countries isolated by the international community.
Iran, the second world country after Russia for what concerns national natural gas reserves, is isolated after Ahmadinejad regime started a military atomic program, which has been strongly condemned by Western countries.
Syrian Bashar Al Assad's regime is facing a civil war against Syrian resistants, who are supported by the most important Western countries as the USA, France and the UK.
As Farsi Iranian news agency reported, Ardeshir Roshtami, a Teheran government's spokesman, confirmed the Iranian-Syrian pipeline is a geopolitical project which allows Iran and Syria to face the International isolation.
The Iranian-Syrian pipeline demonstrates that often pipelines are political - and not just commercial - projects.
Another pipeline built because of political reasons is the Southstream: a pipeline planed by Russia to deliver in Europe 63 bcm of Russian gas and increase Europe's dependence on Russian gas supplies - Moscow nowadays covers a 40% of the EU total gas need.
Moreover, Southstream's realization blocks EU gas supplies diversification projects, planed by the European Commission in order to carry 16 bcm of natural gas directly from Azerbaijan.
Despite the European Commission sentenced Southstream pipeline endangers EU countries' national security, Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands endorsed Russian pipeline, and preferred to support national interest instead of a common European energetic policy.
The Orthodox Pipeline, as Southstream has been renamed, is conceived to deliver Russian gas from Russia to Austria via Black Sea seabed, Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary and Slovenia.
Southstream's shareholders are Russian national gas major Gazprom, Italian concern ENI, German company Wintershall and French company EDF.
Matteo Cazzulani
