Krasimir Parvanov, head of Bulgaria's National Electricity Co. who was fired and reinstated after signing an agreement with Rosatom Corp, claims the document is not legally binding.

"The documents, which I signed, do not in any way commit Bulgaria to constructing a nuclear power plant in Belene. They just delay by two months the final decision on that," Parvanov told the morning broadcast of bTV private TV channel on Thursday.

In his words had he not signed the addendum extending the agreement, the Russian side would have claimed damages worth EUR 600 M from the electricity company.

Bulgaria's main electricity utility and Russia's state-owned Rosatom Corp. have been in talks over the past week on extending an accord to build a 2,000 megawatt nuclear plant on the Danube, in the north of the country.

The head of the National Electric Company NEK Krasimir Parvanov signed on Tuesday an agreement with Rosatom's subsidiary Atomstroyexport that potentially threatens Bulgaria's national interests by obliging the Bulgarian government to reach a final agreement with the Russians on Belene by June 1, 2001.

The sneaky move was slammed by the Economy and Energy Minister Traicho Traikov and led to Parvanov's dismissal, which was eventually overturned by Prime Minister Boyko Borisov.

Borisov harshly criticized the minister's hasty and emotional reaction and threatened him with being kicked out of office.

It turned out that Parvanov has coordinated his actions with Deputy Prime Minister Simeon Djankov, who oversees finance and economy.

It is still an open question whether the signed document is legally binding. The issue has stirred heated debates in Bulgaria as it comes before the two sides agree on the price of the project and conduct safety checks.

"I and Minister Traikov have never been on friendly terms. This is a communication problem, this is just how I feel things are," Parvanov said on Thursday, but declined to say why.

"I guess he believes that what I do at the national electricity company does not serve the interests of the company and the country," he said, adding that last year NEK posted a rise in profit worth BGN 102 M.

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