This is Kerry’s first visit to Bulgaria on the post of US secretary of state. He will be accompanied by Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland.
The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry said during the visit, Kerry will meet with Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev, Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov. The talks will focus on regional security, bilateral cooperation in the field of defence, trade and economic contacts, investments and energy.
Local mass media said referring to diplomatic and government sources that the Ukrainian crisis and the terrorist acts in Paris, prospects for developing shale gas in Bulgaria and the fate of the South Stream pipeline would be touched upon at the talks.
Sofia does not consider Russia’s refusal from the South Stream project final because no official notification has been received yet. Experts believe that American diplomats will do their best to lift the moratorium on extracting shale gas through fracking and to support trans-Atlantic trade and investment partnership between the EU and the US.
[itar-tass.com]
15/1/15
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Le ministre de l'Energie de Russie Alexandre Novak a déclaré que Gazprom et la Russie n'avaient jamais enfreint leurs engagements devant des partenaires et que leur décision de construire un gazoduc via la Turquie avait été prise en vue d'éviter des problèmes créés par des « pays peu fiables »....
ReplyDeleteSelon le ministre russe, il ne peut pas être question d'un changement d'image de la société publique russe.
Alexandre Novak a ainsi commenté les propos du vice-président de la Commission européenne Maros Sefcovic d'après lequel Gazprom aurait perdu la réputation d'un fournisseur sûr.
Lire la suite: http://french.ruvr.ru/news/2015_01_15/Moscou-a-repondu-a-la-declaration-de-la-CE-relative-a-la-fiabilite-de-Gazprom-7620/
15/1/15
US Secretary of State John Kerry, who is in Sofia, said during a news conference with Bulgaria’s Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov that the countries had "agreed to work to enhance regional security – including through joint exercises, implementation of NATO’s Readiness Action Plan, actions to bolster stability and security."...
ReplyDeleteAccording to the statement, Washington also remains "committed to improving Bulgaria’s energy security through greater diversity of supply and distribution and increased interconnectivity with neighbors."
Bulgaria is extremely dependent on Russian energy supplies, with about 90 percent of its natural gas supplies coming from Russia’s energy giant Gazprom. It also depends on Russia for as much as 100 percent of its nuclear fuel needs.
The United States has been a vocal opponent of Bulgaria’s energy cooperation with Russia. In August, Sofia announced it must freeze a South Stream pipeline project that would have carried Russian natural gas to southern and central Europe across its territory. The project would have made Bulgaria a gateway for Russian gas deliveries to the region and could have reduce the gas price..................http://sputniknews.com/europe/20150115/1016936785.html
15/1/15