Bulgaria pulls out of gas pipeline deal with Russia

PanARMENIAN.Net - Bulgaria's Finance Minister says his country is pulling out of a pipeline deal to carry Russian oil through his country to Greece.

Simeon Dyankov said Wednesday, December 6, the government has decided to withdraw from the project because it cannot be executed under the financial conditions of the 2007 agreement, The Associated Press reported.

The proposed 175-mile (282-kilometer) pipeline was to bring Russian oil - brought by tanker - through Bulgaria to Alexandroupolis in northeastern Greece, bypassing Turkey's congested Bosporus Straits.

The pipeline, passing 100 miles (160 kilometers) through Bulgaria, was scheduled to have an initial annual capacity of 35 million tons, which could be later expanded to 50 million tons. Its costs were estimated at up to euro1 billion ($1.34 billion).