Bulgaria to halt work on Russian-backed gas pipelineJune 9, 2014 - 18:50 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Bulgaria is to halt work on its Russian-backed South Stream gas pipeline following criticism from the EU and U.S., according to BBC News. Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski announced that he had "ordered all work to be stopped". on "We will decide further developments following consultations with Brussels," he said after meeting with U.S. senators. The Gazprom-financed pipeline would ship gas to western Europe via the Balkans, thus avoiding Ukraine. The European Commission had sent Bulgarian authorities a letter at the start of the month, asking them to suspend work on the project. The EC claimed Bulgaria may have broken EU public procurement laws by choosing local and Russian bidders. Bulgaria has previously said it is being targeted by Brussels as a means of retaliating against Russia over the situation in Ukraine. If built, the pipeline would deliver 63 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year, via Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary and Slovenia before entering Italy. Construction work on the pipeline began in Bulgaria in October 2013. Photo: RIA Novosti Related links: Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. U.S. welcomes efforts to define Armenia-Azerbaijan border The United States welcomes efforts to define the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, says Vedant Patel. Biden honors resilience of Armenian people on April 24 U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a statement on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. |