Bulgaria's PM: War Between Me and Putin is Fiction

Bulgarian PM Boyko Borisov (L) is shown meeting Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Polish city of Gdansk, September 2009. Photo by BGNES.

Bulgarian PM Boyko Borisov announced Tuesday that talk of any kind of war between him and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin is "fiction".

He characterized those speculations as untrue inventions on the part of media and expressed deep satisfaction at today's meeting with Russian first deputy-PM Viktor Zubkov.

He thanked the Russian party for its open and transparent stance in the talks.

What is more, Borisov expressed conviction that joint energy projects between Russia and Bulgaria are going to be beneficial for both countries, dispelling impressions he created himself earlier June and July that Bulgaria is turning its back on Russian energy interests.

Russian deputy-PM Viktor Zubkov concurred that any talk of a “war” between the to parties is unfounded.

This turn of events comes just less than a day after international press, including Russian editions, reprised the theme of Bulgaria steering away from Russia.

In particular, Borisov added that there are no unclarities left on both South Stream gas pipeline project and Belene NPP project. He added that the execution of those projects would additionally open up new jobs in Bulgaria, which was a great opportunity during times of crisis.

Borisov reiterated that he and Zubkov had coordinated Road Maps for both South Stream and Belene.

Regarding Belene, Borisov said the Bulgarian side requested lowering financing by at least 40%, a firm deadline for the project, and a total price that must be the same at the project's start and end (around EUR 7 B).

He reiterated Bulgaria's request that intermediaries be removed from the delivery of Russian gas to the country.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!