Russia’s Energy Minister, Sergei Shmatko, has termed Bulgaria “the most crucial partner” within the South Stream gas transit pipeline project.

Shmatko held talks with his Bulgarian counterpart Traicho Traikov in Sofia together with the Rosatom CEO, Sergei Kiriyenko, focusing mostly on the Russian loan for the Belene NPP.

However, South Stream and the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline were also discussed.

The Russian Minister announced the two sides agreed to create an inventory of the information on the South Stream project collected by them so far in order to accelerate its realization.

Over the week, Romania announced its readiness to become part of the South Stream pipeline, which led to speculations that it might replace Bulgaria as the Balkan gateway for the project.