Bulgaria Opposition Would Cancel Stroytransgaz Contract

Bulgaria's main opposition party would cancel a contract awarded to a consortium led by Stroytransgaz, a company owned by sanctions hit businessman Gennady Timchenko, to build the Bulgarian section of the Russian-led South Stream gas pipeline.

The construction of the pipeline has thrust Bulgaria into the centre of a diplomatic row between the European Union and Russia, and Bulgaria has suspended work on its portion of the project until it gets permission from Brussels.

"The contract will be cancelled. We will carry a new procedure based on European rules, which will be transparent and clear," Boiko Borisov, the leader of Bulgaria's GERB party, told national radio in an interview from Washington.

Borisov's statement carries weight as his party is seen as the likely winner in a national election that is expected to be held in Bulgaria this year. The Stroytransgaz contract is worth more than 3.5 billion euros. ($4.77 billion). ($1 = 0.7345 Euros)

Reporting by Tsvetelia Tsolova.