Rightist leader Martin Dimitrov has praised the decision of the center-right GERB government to quit the Belene NPP project.

"If this is the decision and we are indeed withdrawing from the Belene NPP project, it is the right way to go. I congratulate the Prime Minister, although he wasted money on the project for two years and a half," the leader of the Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) and Co-Chair of the Blue Coalition said Wednesday.

"If this is true, because I still have my doubts, then it is a huge victory for the Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) and the Blue Coalition," Dimitrov added.

"We have long thought that this is the best decision for Bulgaria. A seventh unit at the Kozloduy NPP will be at least two times cheaper, while a potential natural gas power plant at the site will be a much better investment," the rightist leader argued.

Asked whether the new gas-powered power plant would increase Bulgaria's dependence on Russia, he insisted that Bulgaria's main priority ought to be the construction of alternative gas links with Turkey and Greece, and even with Serbia and Romania.

"I believe that if the construction of a gas grid interconnection with Turkey is treated as a priority project, it could be completed in a year and a half, which will enable Bulgaria to buy Azeri gas. Apart from that, if an agreement is reached to transport alternative gas through the Russian pipe, just as Poland did, this will place Bulgaria in a much better bargaining position in the gas price talks with Russia," he explained.

Dimitrov claimed that the countries that had achieved a reduction of gas prices had built interconnections with neighboring countries, meaning that they had alternatives.

"What Bulgaria needs to do is to speed up the construction of gas grid interconnections with Greece, Turkey, Serbia, Romania, which will allow us to reduce gas prices," he stated.

"This government and this Prime Minister, should have stopped the project back in 2009, when they admitted that it was "a quagmire," the UDF leader said, adding that the decision was late, but it was better than later.

"There is a preliminary report of the consultant, which is only being reviewed by the government, but is obviously not convincing for Belene," the right-wing leader concluded.

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