Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin discussed the Russian-Bulgarian energy cooperation with his Bulgarian counterpart Boiko Borisov in a telephone conversation on Wednesday, the Russian government's press service said.
Russia and Bulgaria signed in January 2008 an agreement on the South Stream project designed to transport Russian gas to western Europe bypassing Ukraine.
However, Gazprom announced in June the possibility of re-routing South Stream through Romania, instead of Bulgaria, after Borisov said that his country would not proceed with previous agreements to build the joint gas pipeline with Russia and Greece.
The issue was settled on July 16, when the counties signed a road map for the technical and economic assessment of Bulgaria's section of the pipeline.
The South Stream pipeline, which is considered a rival to the EU-backed Nabucco pipeline, is scheduled to be launched in December 2015.
RIA Novosti
