OREANDA-NEWS. March 23, 2012. "Russia will insist on further realization of Burgas-Aleksandrupolis project if project expenses are minimized", - said M.Barkov, the Vice-President of TRANSNEFT JSC and a member of Supervisory Board of Trans-Balkan Pipeline Company.

The question of the project's future will be discussed on Tuesday at the meeting of Supervisory Board of Trans-Balkan Pipeline Company, which acts as the operator of the project and tends to its freezing. In the previous year, Bulgaria announced its quitting the project and paid off to Russia the funds that had been forwarded by the Russian party for financing the shares of Bulgaria's participation at the project.

According to M.Barkov, Burgas-Aleksandropolis project is much more long-term than political influences. It is objectively essential not only for Bulgaria and Greece but for the whole Europe from the point of view of diversification of oil delivery routes to European consumers (omitting Turkish straits) both from Russia and Caspian countries. On the Russian party's opinion, in a mid-term, a legal company should be remained to be able to manage the property on balance of Trans-Balkan Pipeline Company, and these are land areas first of all. Although, other administrative positions can be preserved within a matter of the project management.

As M.Barkov noticed, the directive for the Russian party for voting at the Supervisory Board meeting is preservation of intergovernmental agreement on Burgas-Aleksandropolis project realization. According to the Vice-President of TRANSNEFT JSC, this position of the Russian party is also supported by Greece.