Bulgaria and Greece
boosted bilateral ties in talks Tuesday that nonetheless failed to overcome
uncertainties on the fate of a Russia-backed oil pipeline project, officials said.
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou reiterated Greek interest in building
the 280-kilometer pipeline from the Bulgarian port
of Burgas to Alexandroupolis in Greece.
The line would carry Russian oil from the Caspian Sea to Europe, bypassing the
busy Bosporus strait.
"Our interest in implementing the Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline project
remains," Papandreou said Tuesday.
But he was unable to get Bulgaria's
immediate backing for the long-stalled deal that has already prompted protests
by environmentalists in the Black Sea region
of Burgas.
"Our position remains unchanged--[we want] an international environmental
impact assessment...The Greek side has to understand that ecology comes
first," Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said.
Bulgaria hopes to have the
assessment ready by February 2011 and Papandreou said Tuesday that Greece was ready to wait for the results and Bulgaria's
final decision.
Both Russia and Greece
have recently intensified diplomatic pressure on Bulgaria
to back the pipeline, after Borisov hinted in June that Bulgaria may pull out.
And while Russian officials recently expressed hope that the environmental
impact assessment would give the pipeline a clean bill of health, Papandreou
said Tuesday that the fate of the deal should not prevent the development of
bilateral ties.
"Our relations should not hang on Burgas-Alexandroupolis. Regardless of
whether the project develops positively or not, there are many more
opportunities for co-operation in different areas," Papandreou said.
The governments of Bulgaria
and Greece
Tuesday signed 13 agreements in areas ranging from finance, energy, military
co-operation, tourism, transport and water management to labor, healthcare and
culture.