Martin Dimitrov, Deputy Chair of Bulgaria’s parliamentary energy committee, has dismissed the announcement of Russian President Vladimir Putin about the suspension of the South Stream gas pipeline project as a bluff.

“There is no way Russia is giving up on the South Stream gas pipeline project,” Dimitrov declared Tuesday in an interview for the morning broadcast of Nova TV.

“This is a tactical move on the part of Vladimir Putin and of Russia. They would never give up on the South Stream gas pipeline project. A possible rerouting of the conduit through Turkey would make the project two to three times more expensive, thereby rendering it economically impossible, not just inefficient. Such a pipeline already exists - it is the Blue Stream, which goes through Turkey, and cannot be filled,” Dimitrov explained.

He claimed that the announcement on Monday had been nothing more than a tactical move aimed at stepping up pressure on Bulgaria and the European Commission to implement the South Stream gas pipeline.

“Just wait and see how this move of Moscow causes hysteria in Bulgaria, with a number of people urging the authorities to accept any proposal of Russia because the country would otherwise face losses,” Dimitrov noted, as cited by Sega daily.

He insisted that Bulgaria had not been left without a choice.

“Russia wants to build the South Stream gas pipeline. It just has to happen in line with EU rules and be economically efficient for Bulgaria,” he pointed out.