Bulgarians protest Putin's visit on South Stream project

Protests were held against the signing of a gas pipeline deal between Russia and Bulgaria by activists in Sofia during the Russian prime minister's visit. A human rights group, named after the murdered Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, staged a demonstration at a major intersection in Sofia on Saturday, ahead of Vladimir Putin's arrival in the capital. "Putin's dirty energy projects have no place in Bulgaria," DPA quoted an activist as saying. Other activists held up signs that read, "Putin Go Home" and "Independence from Putin's Russia." The South Stream pipeline deal, worth EUR 25 billion (USD 34.7 billion), has now been signed by Putin and Bulgarian Prime Minister Bojko Borissov. The pipeline, which will transport up to 63 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year from under the Black Sea to Bulgaria and central European countries, is scheduled to start transshipment in 2015. The Nabucco pipeline project, supported by the US and EU, is another pipeline deal scheduled to go through Bulgaria. The government considers the project as a complementary to the South Stream project since the gas will be coming from under the Baltic Sea. The Bulgarian Cabinet approved the joint venture to build and operate the pipeline ahead of Putin's visit. It will be operated on an equal-equity basis by the state-held Bulgarian Energy Holding and Russia's Gazprom. Putin is also expected to discuss the construction of a nuclear power plant at Belene on the Danube
the visit >  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ob3aG19aVI