Bulgaria threatened Thursday to harden its stance over Russia's South Stream gas pipeline, after Moscow filed a massive compensation claim against Sofia over a dropped nuclear plant deal.
Bulgaria
threatened
Thursday
to
harden
its
stance
over
Russia'
s
South
Stream
gas
pipeline,
after
Moscow
filed
a
massive
compensation
claim
against
Sofia
over
a
dropped
nuclear
plant
deal.
"I
hope that (Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin did not know about this
company's action," Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said.
Tuesday,
Russia
's
state-run Atomstroiexport presented a 1 billion euro ($1.3-billion)
compensation claim against
Bulgaria
before the International Court of Arbitration.
"If he knew, his November 9 visit to
Bulgaria
, when
we are due to sign on South Stream, will not be pleasant at all," Mr.
Borisov added.
"We will go to court" over Atomstroiexport's claim, he vowed, even as
he noted the two countries' "centuries-old friendship."
Mr. Borisov didn't however go as far as to question the future of South Stream
altogether.
"For me this project has been agreed on and construction will start,"
he said.
Sofia
drew ire from
Moscow
for
cancelling a deal with Atomstroiexport to build a 2,000-megawatt nuclear power
plant at Belene, as it was unable to fund the costly project.
The deal, agreed in principle in 2006, was dogged by constant haggling over its
estimated price of EUR6 billion and a failure to find a new Western investor
after the withdrawal in 2009 of German utility RWE AG (RWEOY).
However,
Bulgaria
has
pledged to join the Russia-backed South Stream gas pipeline project, which will
bring Russian gas to
Europe
under the
Black
Sea
, bypassing row-prone
Ukraine
.
A final investment decision for the Bulgarian stretch of the 3,600-kilometre
(2,200-mile) pipeline was expected to be taken by November with construction
planned to start in early 2013.
In November 2010, the state-owned Bulgarian Energy Holding and
Russia
's gas
giant Gazprom OAO (OGZPY) already set up a 50-50 joint venture to plan, build
and operate the link.
Bulgaria
,
which is totally dependent on
Russia
for
its gas, has tried in the past to use its participation in South Stream as a
bargaining chip for lower delivery prices from Gazprom.
The government has however always denied any link between the gas deal and the
Belene project.
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