The Greek parliament voted on Tuesday to ratify an agreement with Russia to build the Greek section of the South Stream gas pipeline.

The deal was approved by 264 MPs out of a total of 300.

The South Stream project is expected to transport 10 billion cu m of Russian gas annually across the Black Sea to the Balkans and onto other European countries, with the first deliveries scheduled to start in 2013.

Apart from Russia and Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, and Italy are involved in the project.