Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said yesterday that Russia and Bulgaria have set aside their differences over the proposed South Stream gas pipeline to Europe, paving the way for an agreement within the next couple of weeks.
“We have no disagreements left,” Putin said at a televised news conference with his Bulgarian counterpart. “Our earlier disagreements were purely technical.” Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev held talks with Putin on Monday during a three-day visit to Moscow after tensions emerged between the two countries over the proposals for the Kremlin-lobbied project, mooted by Russia as a key alternative to existing export routes crossing Ukraine and Belarus. Putin said the pipeline deal could be signed within a couple of weeks.
(KATHIMERINI, 04/29/2009)