MOSCOW, March 4. /TASS/. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev is beginning a three-day foreign trip, during which he will pay officials visits to Bulgaria and Luxemburg. On Monday, Medvedev will hold negotiations in Sofia.

Agenda

According to the Russian government’s press service, during Medvedev’s visit to Bulgaria scheduled for March 4-5 he will meet with President Rumen Radev, Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and other officials. "The agenda of the upcoming negotiations includes topical issues related to Russian-Bulgarian trade, economic, investment, scientific, technical, cultural and humanitarian cooperation, the implementation of joint projects in the energy sector, industry, agriculture, tourism and other areas," the press service said.

For its part, the press service of the Bulgarian government reported that the issues, which are expected to be discussed, are related to bilateral cooperation in the energy sector, economy and tourism.

Historical context

The visit will take place against the backdrop of celebrations to mark the 141st anniversary of Bulgaria’s liberation from the Ottoman rule. This year also marks 140 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. In his message of congratulations addressed to Borisov, Medvedev noted that the feat of Russian soldiers and Bulgarian volunteers who fought for Bulgaria’s freedom and independence had gone down in the history of the two countries.

Medvedev stressed in an interview with Bulgarian newspaper Trud in the run-up to his visit that Moscow and Sofia had no serious discrepancies in the interpretation of those events. "Russia’s decisive role in establishing the sovereignty of your country is beyond question," he said.

Medvedev and Borisov earlier met in October on the sidelines of the Asia-Europe forum in Brussels, and, prior to that, in Moscow in May. Medvedev also met with Radev last May who paid a visit to Russia.

TurkStream extension

The possibility of extending the TurkStream gas pipeline through Bulgaria to Serbia is expected to be one of the key issues during the talks in Sofia.

Medvedev stressed in an interview with the Trud newspaper that the decision to extend the TurkStream pipeline across Bulgaria depends on whether Sofia can get firm guarantees that the EU will not obstruct the plans for gas supplies via the new gas pipeline.

After completing his visit to Bulgaria, the Russian prime minister will travel to Luxemburg. The Cabinet’s press service earlier reported that during his visit to that country scheduled to take place on March 5-6, Medvedev and his counterpart Xavier Bettel would discuss bilateral trade, economic and investment cooperation. That will be the Russian premier’s first visit to Luxemburg.