SOFIA. March 3 (Interfax-AVN) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday that "Russia's and Bulgaria's positions on the Iraq problem do not fully coincide."
Russia believes, however, that it is the sovereign right of every country to shape its foreign policy in line with national interests, he said at a press conference in Sofia.
"Nevertheless, Russia is convinced that the Iraq crisis can and must be settled peacefully," said Putin.
Bulgarian President Georgi Purvanov stated that his country favors the unconditional and early disarmament of Saddam Hussein's regime. "It is extremely important to find a peaceful and diplomatic solution to the Iraq problem. It is also important to ensure that the Iraq problem is settled in a way which the UN Security Council will qualify as legitimate," Purvanov said.
Both presidents agree that the European Union was late in deciding on what position to take on the Iraq problem. This, Putin noted, has made it more difficult for many countries to work out a balanced approach to Iraq.
Regarding bilateral cooperation, Putin underscored Russia's readiness to boost the shipment of transit gas to third countries through Bulglaria from 12 billion cubic meters to 18 billion cubic meters.
To upgrade Bulgaria's pipeline network and gas supply, Gazprom could invest USD50m while the Russian government could provide USD150m in credit, the president reported.
Asked about Russia's debt to Bulgaria, Putin said it would partly be offset by shipments of various commodities, and where efforts to agree on such deliveries fail, Russia would pay hard currency.
The debt of Bulgaria's Defense Ministry to Russia will likely be disbursed by repairing naval ships in Bulgarian ports.
Russia also plans to modernize Bulgaria's military aircraft.
Putin believes that the current talks have not only ended a ten- year pause in bilateral relations but have also created a new creative and positive basis for further relations.
The president said the Russian side was satisfied with how open the negotiations were, with the nature of the discussions and with the results of working together.