Putin to talk pipeline on Slovenia, Serbia trip

Slovenia signed an agreement on Saturday for the massive South Stream gas pipeline from Russia to Europe to pass through the country.Prime Minister Borut Pahor and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin witnessed the accord signed by their respective energy ministers Matej Lahovnik and Sergei Shmatko at Putin's residence at Novo-Ogarevo near Moscow."We have now signed agreements with all the European partners which are vital for the South Stream project," Putin said at a joint press conference afterwards.

A EU-Balkans summit aimed at speeding up the region's European integration in Slovenia this weekend suffered a blow as Serbian President Boris Tadic said he would not attend because of a row over Kosovo.Tadic would not attend the summit near Ljubljana since Kosovo, which has split from Serbia in 2008, would be represented as an independent state, his office said in a statement.Belgrade insists that Kosovo, which Serbia still considers its southern province, should not be invited to regional meetings as an independent state.