Balkan countries are trying to diversify their energy supplies to the region within growing political and economic influence of Russia.

In particular, Croatia and Montenegro are going to build a natural gas pipeline that will join the project TAP over the next five years.

News.Az reports with reference to Bloomberg that Croatian and Montenegrin section of the pipeline will stretch along the Adriatic coast. Zagreb and Podgorica are going to spend  EUR 700 mln on the construction of the GTS.

The statement came from the Minister of Economy of Croatia and Montenegro Ivan Vrdoylak and Vladimir Kavaric speaking at a joint press conference in Budva.

"All countries in the region want to join the TAP. This is also a great opportunity for Montenegro to make a profit by selling the produced gas through the pipeline," Kavaric said.

"There is a political will. Now you have to gather investors and regulators to discuss transit costs. We also would like to include Bosnia and Herzegovina in this project," Vrdoylak added.

GTS TAP is designed to deliver the Azerbaijani gas to Europe. This is the only project to date on the diversification of energy supplies to the EU, which is active. BP has invested $ 28 bn in the development of the Azerbaijani "Shah Deniz" field, from which it plans to sell 16 bn cubic meters of gas per year to Turkey and Europe. The company's partners are Statoil ASA, Total SA and the Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR.

The establishment of TAP project with the participation of Ukraine, Hungary and Croatia was spoken of in 2013. But now, against the background of the war in the Donbass, it became particularly relevant.