Papoulias: Greece Eager about Joint Energy Projects with Bulgaria

Greece deems it highly important to boost its bilateral energy projects with Bulgaria, Greek President Karolos Papoulias told Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev in Athens.

Plevneliev arrived on a two-day visit to Greece on Wednesday, and was welcomed by his Greek counterpart. He discussed with Papoulias the acceleration of the Bulgarian-Greek gas interconnection, a pipeline that is supposed to link the natural gas supply systems of the two countries.

"Greece believes it is extremely important to encourage the Bulgarian-Greek cooperation in all large-scale energy projects," the Greek President stated, as cited by Focus.

"The gas interconnection between Bulgaria and Greece is of major importance for Bulgaria's energy diversification since at present we are dependent on the supplies of natural gas via Ukraine," Plevneliev stated in turn.

"We have agreed that the future our neighbors, especially in the Western Balkans, lies with the European Union," Papoulias said further during his joint news conference with Plevneliev.

"Further strengthening and encouragement of our cooperation with friendly Bulgaria is important. The spirit of solidarity and understanding that underlies the relations between our two nations, especially in a time of crisis, is an example of cooperation between friendly and neighboring countries," he added.

During his talks with Plevneliev, Greece's President also wished good luck to Cyprus, which took over the rotating EU Presidency on July 1, 2012, for a six-month period.