Russia said last Wednesday that an agreement on a pipeline project to transport Russian oil to Greece would be reached by the end of the year. Russian, Greek and Bulgarian officials have been working on a plan to transport Russian oil by sea to the Bulgarian port of Burgas, where it would be put in a pipeline running to Alexandroupolis in Greece. “We assume that before the end of the year an agreement will be signed by the parties,” said a spokesperson for the Russian Industry and Energy Ministry. The agreement for the pipeline, which will transport oil extracted from the Caspian Sea region, requires the signatures of the Russian, Bulgarian and Greek authorities. “The project is completely ready,” Greek development official Nikos Stefanou said Wednesday in Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin is to visit Athens with Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev on Monday for talks about energy, presenting an opportunity for a final agreement on the project.