Transcript of the meeting's beginning:

Vladimir Putin: Mr Prime Minister, we have talked over the telephone, and I congratulated you on your election victory in a written message. I am happy to be able to meet you personally, to become acquainted, and to talk about our cooperation in politics and the economy. We have quite a few large joint projects.

I would like to hear your view of our future relations. We understand that you need time to assess them and get your bearings. We hope that this will not take long, and that we will receive from our Bulgarian colleagues a clear expression of their stance on all aspects of our interaction.

Boyko Borissov (as translated): Mr Prime Minister, I am grateful to you for giving me your time. There have been many articles and analyses in Russia and Bulgaria. We were involved in a rather difficult political struggle in Bulgaria.

In fact, we did not know the details of the agreements on energy projects signed between Russia and Bulgaria. However, politically our government is an ardent advocate of promoting long-term relations in politics, in the economy and culturally.

Politically, I would like to say that my country, although it is a member of the European Union and NATO, has no aggravating problems in its relations with Russia. On the contrary, our peoples, being Orthodox peoples, have been developing friendly relations for centuries. And it is our task to maintain these relations in future.

I am grateful that during our telephone conversation you agreed to give us time until November in consideration of the change of government. However, we have limited information regarding the nature of the agreements signed between our countries, which could be the reason for differences in our assessments.

My foreign minister has told me that (the essence of the agreements) was open to the general public in Bulgaria. However, I must tell you again that we are not aware of the details of these agreements. This explains the diametrically opposite views of these agreements - for them and against them.

My government will carry on the policy of turning Bulgaria into the energy centre of the Balkans and of Europe. I am grateful for your response and your willingness to send Russian experts to Bulgaria. My ministers are ready for this meeting.

We may be able to learn the details within a month. I am referring above all to the Belene nuclear power plant. I don't believe there are any problems regarding South Stream. As for the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline, there is a problem. Two local referendums will be held on the issue of environmental protection of the coastal zone.

So, the Bulgarian public should be convinced that this project will benefit Bulgaria. I can assure you that we can work together and successfully in this sphere, and that you can regard me as your partner.

Still, we need to analyse the details. You know that we don't have a majority in parliament - we lack five seats for that. Despite major differences between us and other parties, we simply need to convince them that this will benefit Bulgaria.

Vladimir Putin: Mr Prime Minister, I would like to say again, we see the need for the new cabinet members to study the materials and analyse all these projects in greater detail.

However, these are open documents. If your experts had no chance to study them due to some internal political problems associated with the election campaign, we will provide them with all the necessary documents.

I fully agree with you that Russia and Bulgaria have special relations. All the projects we have developed in the past are aimed, in part, at strengthening Bulgaria's status as a major energy centre in Europe, and a large transit partner. In fact, these projects are aimed at changing the geopolitical - in this context - status of the country and providing the possibility for additional revenue from commodities transit.

I can assure you Mr Prime Minister that there will be no problems in our relations if your government decides - for reasons, following an analysis (of the documents) - that this or that project do not meet the interests of Bulgaria. We will not implement projects that do not suit Bulgaria. We will find a different way; Russia will resolve its problems, find a different solutions. We can find other forms of cooperation, and we will search for them without taking offense, with due respect for the interests of each other.

The only thing we ask from you is to come to a decision as soon as possible. We have been discussing the Burgas-Alexandroupolis project for years, although it provides for building only 280 km of pipeline. We have already built a 1,500-km oil pipeline from East Siberia to the border with China. And we will soon extend it to the Pacific Coast, which is another 2,000 km, even though we launched the project only two years ago. Meanwhile, we have been discussing the Burgas-Alexandroupolis project for seven years.

If you say no, we will drop the project, and will do the same regarding any other project if you say so.