Amos Hochstein

US diplomats are working in Greece to make sure the interconnector project between Athens and Sofia will be carried out, the Bulgarian National Radio has said.

"The interconnector with Bulgaria is a priority for Greece's energy policy as well," BNR's correspondent in Athens quotes Greek Energy Minister Skourletis as telling lawmakers in Parliament.

Serbian Energy Minister Aleksandar Antic has met with U.S. State Department's Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs Amos Hochstein.

The two officials discussed the cooperation between Serbia and the U.S. in the energy sector, diversification of energy supply and sources, and improvement of Serbia's energy security, the Ministry said.

The construction of a new generating unit at Bulgaria's sole Kozloduy nuclear power plant (NPP) will cost USD 5.3 B.

The price had been specified diring a meeting between Energy MinisterTemenuzhka Petkova and the visiting Special Envoy to US Secretary of State John Kerry, Amos Hochstein, according to BGNES.

The advancement in the construction of the Southern Gas Corridor - the interconnecting pipe between Bulgaria, Greece and other neighboring countries are among the main topics of discussion between US Special Envoy Amos Hochstein and Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev.

Special Envoy to the US Foreign Secretary John Kery, Amos Hochstein will be arriving in Bulgaria Wednesday.

During his visit in Sofia, Hochstein will be received by Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev and by Prime Minister Boiko Borisov.

Energy Minister Panayiotis Lafazanis on Friday hit back angrily at comments by US energy official Amos Hochstein maintaining that the potential extension of Russia?s as yet unbuilt TurkStream gas pipeline through Greece could create a ?problem area.?

Washington increased the pressure on Athens on Friday to concentrate on the completion of the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) rather than devote efforts toward the extension of the planned Turkish Stream pipeline so it runs through Greece.

Washington’s special envoy for energy met with top Greek ministers in Athens on Friday on the heels of the leftist government’s ongoing talks with Russia’s Putin to clinch a pipeline deal, a prospect viewed with apprehension by the US side.

Greece wants to become a "pluralistic energy hub in the region" with a multi-level and independent energy policy based exclusively on national interests, cooperation and energy security in the region and Europe," Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis said on Friday after talks with Amos Hochstein, a US special envoy for international energy relations.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed energy cooperation in a telephone conversation on Thursday during which the Russian leader expressed his readiness to finance a Greek company that will participate in the construction of a Russian pipeline that would carry natural gas to Europe, Tsipras?s office said.