Bulgaria's parliament Friday approved a gas pipeline deal with Russia over the objections of the centre-right opposition, which accused the government of putting national security at risk, according to DPA. The deal, signed in January during a visit by then Russian President Vladimir Putin, includes a 50-per-cent stake for Bulgaria in the operator of the planned South Stream pipeline. Approval came on a vote of 140-47, carried by Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev's ex-communist Socialist Party's governing majority. South Stream, due for completion in 2012, will run from Russia through the Black Sea and Bulgaria to western Europe. It is seen as a rival to the EU-backed Nabucco pipeline project, designed to supply Europe with Central Asian and Caspian gas, bypassing Russia.
