Azerbaijan, Baku, Dec. 28 /Trend/
Bulgaria refused to reimburse Russia for "Burgas - Alexandroupolis" oil pipeline project, BGNES quotes Bulgarian Prime-Minister Boyko Borisov as saying, Ria Novosti reports.
"We [Bulgaria] will not give them [Russia] a single lev for the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline project," Borisov said.
Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko said on Monday that Russia would calculate all the costs on the construction of the Trans-Balkan oil pipeline and would provide Bulgaria with all the necessary documents for payment as Bulgaria was failing to finance its part of the project and abandoned the project. At the end of November, Bulgaria's debt was 6.2 million euros.
In early December Bulgarian Finance Minister Simeon Djankov said Bulgaria terminates participation in Burgas - Alexandroupolis project. He explained that the government's decision is a result of the analysis of this project, which showed it cannot be implemented under the terms of the 2007 agreement.
The agreement on the construction of the Burgas - Alexandroupolis oil pipeline was signed between Russia, Greece and Bulgaria on March 15, 2007. The route of the oil pipeline was to pass from the Bulgarian city of Burgas on the Black Sea coast to Greek Alexandroupolis on the Aegean coast. This pipeline was to ensure Russian oil supply to the Greek port of Alexandroupolis through Bulgaria, bypassing Turkey's Bosphorus.
Edited by: A.Badalova