Russia's Energy Minister, Sergey Shmatko, said Friday in Sofia it was too early to compare the competitiveness of the South Stream and Nabucco gas transit pipelines.

Shmatko used two sayings - one Russian and one Ukrainian - both meaning "Don't count your chickens before they are hatched" to demonstrate his point, referring especially to Nabucco.

He expressed Russia's confidence that its gas transit project South Stream was well underway, i.e. Russia has almost completed the negotiations with the transit states (which include Bulgaria), has a clear idea about the route, and has all the necessary technology and natural gas supplies to fuel the project.

"Some might not like this but the European consumers will have the final word", Shmatko said stressing that the EU citizens would not want to pay higher gas prices and commissions to large companies in order to get running a politically motivated project such as Nabucco.

According to the Russian Energy Minister, Russia had plenty of natural gas which could allow it immediately to fill the South Stream pipe if it had to, in contrasted to Nabucco whose suppliers or route were not clear.

Shmatko did say, however, that Russia was perfectly fine with the energy emancipation of the Central Asian states - Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan - from its monopoly, as those states seek to become direct suppliers to China or the EU.

The Russian Energy Minister was explicit that the Russian Federation was ready to provide any loans necessary for the construction of Bulgaria's second nuclear power plant at Belene.

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