BELGRADE, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Environmental protection and energy topped the agenda at the 26th meeting of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) here on Monday.
The goal of the BSEC was to make the Black Sea region a "region with no problems whatsoever between neighboring countries and a part of the world that is prosperous and peaceful," Serbian Assistant Foreign Minister Sladana Prica was quoted by Serbian news agency Tanjug as saying.
She said that during the six-month chairmanship of Serbia, the goal had been to "promote dialogue and cooperation between member states in an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect" especially in the areas of environmental safety and energy.
The controversial South Stream pipeline is scheduled to commence construction by the end of 2012, and its proposed route would take Russian natural gas under the Black Sea and through most of the Balkan member states of the BSEC.
The BSEC was founded on June 25, 1992, and has 12 member countries: Russia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Moldova, Greece, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Albania and Serbia. Turkey will assume the next chairmanship of the organization on July 1.
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