On Saturday, October 1, Greece and Bulgaria began operation of a

that will help reduce the dependence of Southeastern European countries on Russian gas.

This is reported by the Reuters agency.

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, arrived at the opening ceremony of the pipeline.

She expressed the opinion that the gas pipeline will limit Moscow's ability to put pressure on members of the European Union and other countries.

"This pipeline is a game-changer. It's a game-changer for Bulgaria and Europe's energy security. And that means freedom. It means freedom from dependence on Russian gas," she said.

The 182-kilometer-long pipeline connects to the Trans-Adriatic gas pipeline, which supplies natural gas from Azerbaijan. 

1 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas will be transported to Bulgaria through the Greece-Bulgaria Interconnector (IGB).

The initial capacity of the pipeline is 3 billion cubic meters per year.

There are plans to later increase it to 5 billion cubic meters.

The gas pipeline can deliver non-Russian gas to Serbia, North Macedonia, Romania and further to Moldova and Ukraine.

We will remind that the

Baltic Pipe gas pipeline with a capacity of 10 billion m³ per year from Norway

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