TurkStream may reach Bulgaria: Russia and Turkey do not mind

The possibility of Bulgaria's participation in the TurkStream project was discussed by Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, who arrived in Moscow, and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

At a press conference following the talks, Borisov said that Russia and Turkey do not mind extending the gas pipeline to Bulgaria. "Bulgaria is facing key events that should become clear today - whether there will be a second step to the gas flow from Russia to Bulgaria through the TurkStream. What we talked about is that President Putin informed us they had talked with the president of Turkey, and no one objects that the TurkStream pipeline be reached towards Bulgaria," Borisov said.

At the same time the president of Russia noted that the approximate prices and the volumes of possible future supplies for Bulgaria have not yet been determined. "We are working on it in practical terms with Turkish and Bulgarian friends. I know that certain transport capacities are being built on the territory of Bulgaria. To what extent, at what prices - this should be determined by economic entities, because there are many purely commercial economic issues that should be attributed to their competence," the Russian president said.

He also added that work on the TurkStream is coming to an end - they have completely finished the work on laying one line on the bottom of the Black Sea, work is beginning on the territory of Turkey. "We have already laid the second line in half, more than 200 kilometers have passed (there are only 400, in my opinion, with a small one). Therefore, everything we are talking about becomes absolutely real, and in the very near future," Vladimir Putin said.

According to the Russian leader, "the issues of the supplying volumes, transit or hub should be solved in the overall range of our energy resources supplying to the European market".

Later, Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin's speaker, said that Russia and Bulgaria show interest in the development of the TurkStream project in the direction of Bulgaria, but no concrete agreements were reached during the talks between President Vladimir Putin and Premier Boyko Borisov.

Earlier EADaily reported that Bulgarian President Rumen Radev had announced Sofia's plans for a direct gas pipeline through the Black Sea. Experts note that this option is more economically feasible for Gazprom, but the lighter version of South Stream again faces the same problem - the lack of EU guarantees.