Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou will visit Bulgaria on Tuesday in a bid to persuade the Bulgarian authorities to give the green light for the construction of the South Stream pipeline designed to transport Russian gas to western Europe.
According to the Greek prime minister's press service, Papandreou is expected to discuss economic cooperation with his Bulgarian counterpart Boiko Borisov. The prime ministers will also head the first joint meeting of Greek-Bulgarian ministerial councils.
Earlier, the Greek deputy energy minister, Yiannis Maniatis, said Papandreou was planning to discuss with Borisov the construction of the South Stream pipeline, which, he said, remains a priority in Greece's energy policies.
The South Stream project, in which Russia, Bulgaria and Greece are partners, stipulates the construction of a 300-kilometre pipeline from Burgas on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast to Alexandroupolis on the Greek Aegean Sea coast. The pipeline, which is considered a rival to the EU-backed Nabucco, is scheduled to be launched in December 2015.
Russia and Bulgaria signed an agreement on the South Stream project in January 2008, and both financial and technical preparations were scheduled to be put together by mid-2010.
RIA Novosti
