Nord Stream

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ekaterina Zaharieva goes on a two-day visit to Warsaw at the invitation of his Polish counterpart, Jacek Chaptutovic.

The two will discuss the development of bilateral relations in the context of the 100th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic contacts between Bulgaria and Poland.

"The construction of TurkStream is progressing according to plan, and options for extending the transit line of this gas pipeline in the European direction are also being considered," Lavrov said, according to the Russian news agency TASS.

A two-day ministerial meeting on peace and security in the Middle East is under way in Warsaw, the Bulgarian National Television reports. The hosts are the United States and Poland.

According to the German broadcaster, after fierce US messages, an important vote in the European Union is up on Friday.

The agency quotes German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung, that writes the French government allegedly wants to backtrack on its support to the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, because the project is a "strategic problem" in tense relations with Moscow.

Bulgaria has pledged to build a new pipeline to pump Russian gas from Turkey to Serbia, EUOBSERVER reports.

Three firms, including Russia's Gazprom, Bulgaria's Bulgargaz, and Swiss firm MET signed contracts to use it.

Russia is seeking to boost its power in Europe and grip over Ukraine with the proposed Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline, the top U.S. energy diplomat said on Dec. 10, in a step-up of Washington's rhetoric against the pipeline.

Bulgaria moved on Friday to revive a gas pipeline project that would pump Russian gas through its territory to Central Europe via TurkStream.

And everything is being done in accordance with European rules, the head of the state-owned natural gas enterprise remarked.

Bajatovic told Prva TV that the Energy Agency of Serbia has already been asked for permission to build TurkStream through Serbia, and that this project in now before the Energy Community, which has a deadline of 60 days to declare itself on it.

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline that will transport Russian gas to Germany will be completed on time even if new sanctions are imposed on Moscow, Russia's energy minister said on Oct. 9.

Russia's Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Tuesday he had agreed with Italy's Edison and Greece's state-controlled gas company DEPA to continue work on a pipeline project to ship Russian natural gas into Europe. 

Speaking at an event in Milan, Novak also said that the Turkish Stream Project was on track for first commercial gas at the end of next year.