Bulgarian PM Confident over Belene NPP Arbitration

Bulgarian Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski believes the country will not lose the arbitration case regarding the compensation sought by Russian Atomstroyexport for the cancellation of the Belene Nuclear Power Plant project.

On Wednesday, members of the opposition GERB party warned that Bulgaria is in danger of losing the case as a result of missed deadlines by the current government, citing a letter from the lawyers of White&Case, hired as defense counsel.

Should the Bulgarian side lose the case, the state will have to pay BGN 1B in compensation.

"I am aware that there are problems. I was informed at the beginning of my term that there had been miscommunication between White&Case and the local legal firm which supports them. There is also an issue with the number of witnesses, but these are operational matters that we are trying to work out", commented Oresharski in a parliamentary media briefing.

Earlier on Thursday, Chief Prosecutor Sotir Tsatsarov informed that the prosecution has launched an inquiry to determine whether the Bulgarian state had complied with the procedural requests of White&Case. The results of the inquiry can be expected within several days.

Adapted from Novinite