Bulgaria and Russia want South Stream to be built despite objections by EU

Bulgaria's prime minister has voiced hope that work on the Russia-led South Stream gas pipeline project, which had been blocked by the European Union, can be resumed.

Last month, Bulgaria, an EU member, suspended work on the pipeline after the EU executive commission said Bulgaria hadn't respected EU internal market rules covering the award of public contracts.

Plamen Oresharski said after meeting visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday that Bulgaria has addressed those issues and believes they will be resolved.

Lavrov also expressed hope that the dialogue between Moscow and the EU on South Stream will be restarted "because there is every reason to believe a mutually acceptable result can be achieved."