VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SOFIA, Bulgaria-Bulgarian and Russian officials signed a deal Friday to build a natural gas pipeline that would undercut a rival project backed by the U.S. and European Union and strengthen the Kremlin's dominance over EU energy supplies.

The agreement came after visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin pushed hard to secure Bulgaria's crucial participation in the projected South Stream pipeline, which would cross from Russia under the Black Sea to Bulgaria and then branch off for delivery deeper in Europe.

Putin brushed off concerns about Russia's increasing influence, saying after the signing ceremony that the pipeline agreement and other deals would "seriously increase the energy security of the Balkans, Europe as a whole and, of course, Bulgaria"

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Posted by dcjaya at January 18, 2008 6:11 PM