Lukoil

Talks between Kerry - accompanied by Assistant US Secretary of State Victoria Nuland - and Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev, Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov are intended to underline Washington's commitment to helping Bulgaria resist Russian influence.

Independent candidate for President Monica Macovei on Tuesday told a press conference in Iasi that money exists in Romania for health care, education and infrastructure, but must be recovered from underground economy and directed to the state budget.

Lukoil's Petrotel refinery in Romania has resumed operations after a production halt imposed last week on suspicion of tax evasion.

On October 7, the Ploiesti-based refinery started preparations for the restart after the owner won a permit for the step in court, according to local news agencies, as cited by Sega daily.

The Ploiesti-based Lukoil refinery, which restarted its installations on October 10, one week after having halted operations following an investigation conducted by the Prosecution Office attached to the Ploiesti Court of Appeal, this Monday resumed the marketing of finished products.

AGERPRES special correspondent Daniel Florea reports: Prime Minister Victor Ponta, while paying an official visit to the Republic of Moldova, said that he had been officially informed on Friday morning about the fact that the activity in Petrotel refinery of Ploiesti had been resumed and said this was a good thing both for Bucharest and for Chisinau.

President Traian Basescu said on Thursday that the Government must be prepared to take over the refinery in Ploiesti, unless Lukoil resumes production on Friday.

Romania's Prosecutor General Tiberiu Nitu on Thursday said that the announcement of the Lukoil representatives on closing down the Petrotel Ploiesti refinery unless the lien on the company's goods is lifted, was meant to put pressure on the prosecutors of the Prosecutor's Office near the Court of Appeal of Ploiesti.

Russia's ambassador to Romania expressed concern after Romanian prosecutors on Monday seized oil and fuel inventories worth 1.04 billion lei (230 million euro) belonging to Petrotel Lukoil, the local subsidiary of Russian group Lukoil.

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Prime minister Victor Ponta said on Saturday in Brasov (northwest of Bucharest) that he could not say anything about the criminal investigation on the Lukoil Ploiesti refinery, yet he added that the utmost thing is to save the jobs and the horizontal industry.

Russia's Lukoil has announced it is selling its filling station networks in Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary.

"The decision to sell the assets was taken as part of the effort to optimize Lukoil's business in petroleum product marketing," the company said in a statement.