India, April 29 -- Croatia and Bosnia signed an agreement Tuesday to build a gas pipeline designed to reduce energy dependency on Russia in the volatile Balkans region.

The Southern Interconnection pipeline will link Bosnia with Croatia's gas network and the liquefied natural gas terminal on the Adriatic Sea island of Krk.

Bosnia has designated a US-based company, AAFS Infrastructure and Energy, as the project's investor and developer.

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and the chair of Bosnia's Council of Ministers, Borjana Kristo, signed the deal in the presence of US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright on the sidelines of a summit of the countries of the Baltic, Black and Adriatic regions.

Plenkovic on social media said the gas ...