SOFIA, March 26. /TASS/. The Russian embassy to Bulgaria is outraged by the remarks of Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov, who claimed that the construction of the TurkStream pipeline was tainted with corruption, the diplomatic mission said in a statement on Friday.
The Russian embassy takes note of "the undiplomatic, brusque and pointed remark made by the Bulgarian prime minister in the context of the implementation of the project expanding the Bulgarian gas transmission network, the extension of the TurkStream gas pipeline in Bulgaria."
"The pipeline has become the largest infrastructure project in the country since 1974. Instead of elementary gratitude for the quick and successful implementation of the project, which is not only mutually beneficial for our countries but has also considerably facilitated the strengthening of energy security in Southeast Europe and the diversification of energy supplies, we just hear groundless insults," the Russian diplomatic mission said.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said earlier that he had held talks with US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the Brussels summit. Among other issues, they touched upon corruption allegedly used as an instrument of Russian influence in the Balkans. Petkov referred to TurkStream as an example, claiming that three billion leva (1.5 billion euro) of national funds were channeled into the pipeline that Bulgaria is unable to use on its own.