Hürriyet Daily News: Bulgaria seeks natural gas conduit with Turkey

Bulgaria is seeking a deal with Turkey to construct a short pipeline connecting the countries’ domestic gas networks, as an alternative to gas from Russia, on which the Balkan country currently depends, diplomatic sources said. 

The issue is expected to be high on the agenda when Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov visits Ankara on March 20, accompanied by eight other ministers. 

The project, which the European Union is ready to finance as part of efforts to diversify energy supplies, is intended to carry Azerbaijani gas to Bulgaria in emergency cases, the sources said, stressing Sofia had already reached a preliminary agreement with Baku to buy at least one billion cubic meters of gas annually. MORE