MOSCOW, June 20. /ITAR-TASS/. Russia will sign a contract to lay the South Stream pipeline across Austria during President Vladimir Putin’s visit to the country on June 24, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov told reporters Friday.

The Austrian segment with the destination point in the city of Baumgarten will have a capacity of 32 billion cubic meters annually, which will be reached in January 2018.

Austria initially planned to cooperate with Gazprom in the South Stream, but later decided in favour of the Nabucco pipeline, pushing Gazprom to plan the South Stream route through neighboring Slovenia.

Russia and Austria resumed their talks on the issue, when the Nabucco West project lost Shah Deniz gas pumping rights to the Trans-Adriatic pipeline.

On Friday, the European Commission said that the laying of South Stream must be suspended until the project is fully adjusted to the EU legislation.

Ushakov said Putin would visit Austria at the invitation of President Heinz Fischer.

“Putin and Fischer will discuss a wide range of bilateral and international issues,” he said.

“Putin will also have talks with Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann. Special attention will be paid to trade and investment cooperation, and the implementation of joint projects in the energy sector, transport and high tech.” The South Stream gas project will be in the focus of Putin’s meetings with Austrian officials, Ushakov said.

“This issue will be discussed. Of course, this is a very important topic,” he said.