Bulgaria Urged to Hurry with South Stream Decision
Participants in the fourteenth International Economic Forum, which ended in Saint Petersburg on Saturday, have reiterated calls on Bulgaria to hurry up with committing itself to the South Stream gas pipeline project.
The news comes days after Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and heads of energy companies involved in South and Nord Stream urged Bulgaria to speed up the process of coordination and making corporative decisions on the pipeline. Recently statements by Bulgarian PM Boyko Borisov that Bulgaria would be pulling out from two other high-profile energy projects, involving Russia - the Belene NPP and the Burgas-Alexandrupolis oil pipeline - caused confusion and dismay in Russia.
Last week's reports have suggested that Gazprom is already technically prepared to drop Bulgaria and to pick Romania for its South Stream gas transit pipeline project.