Former Albanian Premier Sali Berisha responded to the allegations made by the Russian Embassy in Tirana after Berisha had said earlier than the Russian company Gazprom had made him a corruptive offer to sabotage the construction of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).

Following Berisha’s declaration, the Embassy asked him provocatively how much he had asked as bribery that even Gazprom could not afford.

Today Berisha explained that the Gazprom representatives promised the construction of a pipeline from Igoumenitsa (Greece) to Shkodër, in north Albania, passing from Vlora in the Adriatic coast and $4.1 billion investment in big gas thermal centrals in Seman, district of Fier.

"I refused the offer categorically for political reasons. I did not accept Gazprom’s investment because I believed, and time proved me right, they were not in the interest of my country. You did everything to prevent TAP’s construction and failed”, Berisha responded to the Russian Embassy allegations.

Berisha’s full statement:

In relation to yesterday’s declaration about the corruptive efforts of Gasprom in my address to sabotage TAP, the Russian Embassy in Tirana reacted today by asking “how much did Mr. Berisha ask that even Gazprom could not afford?”

In response to this typically Soviet-style provocative reaction of the dictator Putin’s representatives, I’d like to clarify the public with the following:

1 – Gazprom and the Russian government did what could and used all the corruptive lines of their gas to block the TAP project.

2 – In the first week of August 2011, a prominent Turkish businessman, a friend of mine, conveyed to me the following message from the Gazprom president:

“In case I’d renounce from the TAP project and support the ITGI project, which bypassed Albania and passed to the Turkey-Greece-Italy line and was supplied mainly with Russian gas, but also Azeri gas, the Russian side offered to us:

- The construction of an Igoumenitsa-Vlora pipeline, with the possibility of extension to Shkodra.

- A $4.1 billion investment in big gas thermal centrals in Seman.

- These would be decided in a meeting between Gazprom president and me.

The offer was categorically rejected for political reasons by my side. I did not accept Gazprom’s investment because I believed, and time proved me right, they were not in the interest of my country.

You did everything to prevent TAP’s construction and failed.