MOSCOW, November 12 (RIA Novosti) - Russia and Slovenia should more actively get involved in work to diversify their trade relations, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa.

“The volume of investment has been growing, but our trade relations need diversification,” Putin said.

Jansa praised bilateral relations and said the final investment decision will be made on the Slovenian section of the South Stream gas pipeline during his current visit to Moscow.

On Tuesday, Jansa is expected to hold talks with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev.

The South Stream pipeline is intended to transport up to 63 billion cubic meters of natural gas to central and southern Europe, diversifying Russian gas routes away from transit countries such as Ukraine. Construction is expected to start in December 2012. Russia plans to start using the pipeline in 2015.