Gazprom

Bulgaria struck a financial agreement with Russia alongside a secret deal on the construction of South Stream, a Reformist Bloc representative said Friday.

Martin Dimitrov's comments come a day after other bloc members alleged that they had gained access to evidence of a "secret deal" with Gazprom on the South Stream project.

Bulgaria's Reformist Bloc (an alliance of democratic parties) says it has obtained evidence about a secret agreement between Bulgaria and Gazprom on the South Stream project.

The agreement is believed to have been signed three days after the May 25 European elections.

Bulgarian Parliament Speaker Mihail Mikov argued Prime Minister Oresharski had been misinterpreted when speaking about South Stream.

Mikov told the Bulgarian National Radio the construction of the pipeline had not been halted. He added that Plamen Oresharski could not have stopped the project, as he does not possess the competences to do so with a private company like South Stream.

Russia has proposed a discount of USD 100 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas to Ukraine, but Kiev has said it will reject the offer.

Russia and Ukraine began fresh EU-brokered gas supply talks June 11, with Moscow extending a cut-off deadline to next week in the latest signs the worst East-West crisis in years may be easing.

Three-party gas negotiations between Russia, Ukraine, and the European Union will continue on Tuesday in Brussels after the sides failed to reach an agreement on Monday.

The main issues are Ukraine's gas debt and the future prices. Gazprom has warned that if Kiev doesn't repay its USD 5.2B debt, it can stop the delivery.

From Financial Times

Bulgaria's prime minister has halted work on a new Russian-led pipeline that would provide a route around Ukraine for Russian gas into Europe, dealing a setback to Kremlin efforts to strengthen its hold on EU energy supplies.

South Stream "looks irreversible" - Bulgarian minister

BEIJING -- Bulgaria has not given up plans to build the South Stream natural gas pipeline, Energy Minister Dragomir Stoynev was quoted as saying on Monday.

He also described the Gazprom-led project as "irreversible," Reuters reported.

Russian officials reacted to the order of Bulgaria's PM Oresharski to temporarily suspend the construction of the South Stream pipeline in Bulgaria until it complies with EU law.

Moscow, Kiev and Brussels will restart talks on Russian gas supplies today to try to resolve a dispute over price, a Russian energy ministry official said June 8.