/ world today news/ The authorities in Sofia have not yet received an official notification of Moscow’s position regarding the suspension of the construction of “South Stream”. No one has explained whether there are contractual penalties for stopping the project and in what amount.
The companies selected to build also declined to comment. Meanwhile, the production of pipes for the pipeline continues, as it is bound by contracts with companies, not with Russia.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov remained silent on the subject, and his deputy Tomislav Donchev assured that he takes “every word of President Putin seriously, regardless of whether I heard it on TV or radio” and it would be a sign of disrespect to put it under doubt
Speculations continue that the project has not been definitively terminated, but that it is a political game.
On December 9, the Minister of Energy and the Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Donchev have a meeting in Brussels, where they will discuss the matter with the European Commissioner for Energy.
The government believes that South Stream is an important project for Bulgaria, but its implementation requires compliance with European legislation. “South Stream” is an international project, Energy Minister Temenuzka Petkova pointed out in an interview with Nova TV.
She admitted that she was surprised by the figure mentioned by Russian President Vladimir Putin for the missed benefits for Bulgaria, which is 400 million euros.
To tell how much we’re losing, we first need to know what we’re gaining, she said, but pointed out that transit fee revenue has not been agreed upon.
The former energy minister Rumen Ovcharov intervened in the conversation to specify that the losses can be calculated on the basis of the amount that our country now receives from the transit of gas from Russia to Turkey, which is about 1.85, it increases by inflation. Thus, Ovcharov estimated that the losses for Bulgaria from the shutdown of “South Stream” is 600 million dollars.
Minister Petkova also indicated that there is currently no danger to gas supplies.
A crisis headquarters in the Ministry of Energy constantly monitors gas supplies. There is a contract between Bulgargaz and the Russian side for the supply of gas. We are bound to repay what we have spent. We have paid for November one hundred percent, we owe the advance payment for December, she specified.
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