Bulgaria has been slammed by senior Greek government officials over its stalling of the construction of Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline.

Statements by members of the Greek Cabinet during a Hellenic-Russian Society Conference on "Russia-Greece-Cyprus: Political Economic and Cultural Partnerships, Present and Future" held on Monday under the auspices of the Greek foreign ministry indicated much criticism for Bulgaria over the pipeline that should be transporting oil from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean via Bulgaria and Greece.

During the Russian-Greek forum, the importance of the materialization of the South Stream pipeline and the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline in the current difficult conjuncture was highlighted in a message by Republic President Karolos Papoulias read in the opening of the conference, reported the Greek news agency ANA-MPA.

Speaking in the conference, Greece's Deputy Prime Minister Theodoros Pangalos was especially critical of Bulgaria as regards the issue of the construction of the Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline, stressing that it is a project of major importance for the Greek government.

Referring to the stance adopted by the Bulgarian government, he said that implementing the project appears to be difficult.

He maintained that pressures are being exerted by oil companies trying to block the construction of the oil pipeline adding, however, that the dead end is not insurmountable. "The Bulgarian leadership should realize that it is against the interest of the Bulgarian people to adopt a policy that isolates the country," he stressed as cited by ANA-MPA.

"Every time political forces which are under strong Western influence win in Bulgaria, Burgas-Alexandroupolis reaches a dead end," Pangalos said probably referring to the fact that the negotiations for the project have been dragging on since the early 1990s, and that it was usually revived when pro-Russian Socialists were in power in Bulgaria unlike the term of the rightist Kostov government in 1997-2001.

In his words, as cited by the Russian RBK Daily, multinational oil companies connected with the American government use all means to prevent the realization of the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline.

He said that the stalemate could be overcome but "that Russia and Greece will have to use whatever means they have at their disposal to help the Bulgarian leadership understand that policies leading to isolation of the countries in the Balkans with respect to private, Trans-Atlantic interests, does not serve the interests of the Bulgarian people."

A Greek MP, Simos Kedikoglu, representing the parliamentary opposition, supported the opinion of the government member by saying he deemed unconvincing the argument of the Bulgarian government that the oil pipeline project is environmentally unsafe because it will reduce the traffic of oil tankers through the Turkish Straits.

Russian Ambassador to Greece Vladimir Chikvishvili is quoted as being more optimistic about the oil pipeline saying he hoped that projects that are important for the energy security of Europe will be realized.

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