MOSCOW, April 7 (UPI) -- Moscow is growing impatient with Bulgarian delays in implementing the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline, the Russian energy minister said from Moscow.
Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko said Sofia needs to make a decision on the pipeline as soon as possible.
"Bulgaria showed understanding that there is a need to reach the final stage and make final decisions soon," he was quoted by the Sofia News Agency as saying. "For yet another time I call for Bulgaria to push the work on this project."
Bulgarian Energy Minister Traicho Trakov said Sofia always honored its commitments and was examining the environmental impact of the proposed pipeline.
Bulgaria in 2007 signed an agreement with Russia and Greece to build the 174-mile oil pipeline to bypass crowded waterways near Turkey by crossing an overland route to the Aegean Sea.
Bulgarian officials in the past have said pressure from Moscow is part of a broader negotiating tactic and doesn't necessarily reflect the status of the oil pipeline.
Shmatko was speaking at a bilateral economic session in Moscow.
