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Bulgarian president calls on Russia to show more flexibility in energy pricing policies

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev and Russian President Vladimir Putin Mikhail Metzel/TASS

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev and Russian President Vladimir Putin

© Mikhail Metzel/TASS

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ST. PETERSBURG, June 6. /TASS/. Bulgarian President Rumen Radev said on Thursday he hopes Russia will use a more flexible approach to energy pricing.

Bulgaria and Russia are strategic partners in the energy sector and should use a more flexible approach and mechanisms in respect to agreements on long-term supplies of energy sources. Possible purchases of limited volumes of natural gas from other suppliers but at competitive prices will have a serious influence on the market of energy sources both in our country and in the region in the future," he said after talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

He said that he expects the government to suggest concrete solutions to bring down natural gas prices as it determines energy prices for end consumers.

As for the construction of the Belene nuclear power plant, Radev recalled the Bulgarian parliament’s and government’s decision that "the project is to be implemented without government guarantees" as Bulgaria is unable at the moment to undertake liability for the risks related to the construction of the nuclear plant.

"Russia is interested in participating in the project. It provides technologies and ensures safety of its use but it expects government guarantees on this big project," he noted.

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Russia's Rosatom ready to build nuclear power plant in Bulgaria if project is beneficial

Apart from that, he said that Russia is ready to help maintain operability of military hardware used in the Bulgarian army. "Modernization and rearming of the Bulgarian armed forces will take many years and serious resources. So, the best option is to maintain operability of what we have," he added.

The 2019 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum is being held on June 6-8. The forum’s motto this year is "Creating a Sustainable Development Agenda". The organizer for SPIEF-2019 is the Roscongress Foundation. TASS is a media partner, the official photo hosting agency and the operator of SPIEF’s presentation zones with support from multinational firm EY, and the Foreign Investment Advisory Council in Russia.

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Oil & Gas Nuclear energy Bulgaria Cooperation Bilateral relations

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