Bulgaria's Georgi Pirinksi noted that both Athens and Bucharest approved in principle a Bulgarian proposal for a Balkan foreign ministers' summit in Sofia after appropriate preparations have been made. An informal meeting of officials will take place before the end of the month in the Bulgarian capital for an initial exchange of views. Mr. Pangalos stressed that both Athens and Sofia had reservations as to a defense ministers' meeting in Tirana. Regarding a proposal to expand their group to include Austria, Hungary and Slovakia, the three foreign ministers decided to maintain relations at the level of closer contacts between the two forums. Mr. Pangalos announced that he had noted Bulgaria's views regarding the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline, adding that he would raise the issue with his Russian counterpart Yevgeny Primakov in Moscow, where he begun an official visit yesterday.
Petroleum is the most important issue.
Mr. Pangalos made the statement after one hour of talks with Bulgarian Premier Jean Videnov. In statements while returning from Moscow on Friday night, Mr. Videnov insisted on a 25 per cent share for Bulgaria in a joint company that will carry out and run the pipeline construction project. According to an ANA dispatch from Moscow, Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin categorically ruled out the possibility of warfare in Chechnia influencing plans for the Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline. Mr. Chernomyrdin made the statement in reply to reporters' questions after his meeting on Saturday with Mr. Videnov. Mr. Pangalos was due to arrive in Moscow last night for talks with his Russian counterpart as well as the president of the Duma, the Russian prime minister and the Russian Orthodox Patriarch.