My Bulgarian colleagues have always told me that whatever happens, they
would certainly implement South Stream, because this corresponds to
their national interests. But here, unfortunately, this did not come to
pass. If Bulgaria is deprived of the opportunity to act as a sovereign
nation, then they should at least demand money from the European
Commission to compensate for their lost profits, because direct revenues
to Bulgaria’s budget alone would have been no less than 400 million Euros a year. But ultimately, this is also the choice of our Bulgarian
partners; it seems they have certain obligations. Still, that’s not our
business – it’s our partners’ business.
Vladimir Putin