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Bulgaria's government approved Wednesday plans to add a new reactor at its Soviet-era nuclear power plant at Kozloduy, effectively ditching another project to build a new plant at Belene.

"Rosatom has declared its readiness to take part in the implementation of this project. Today we see the constructive attitude of the current Bulgarian government, which intends to give a 'restart' to the construction of the Belene NPP.

The Bulgarian authorities plan to start selecting a strategic investor for the construction of the Belene nuclear power plant before the end of February, Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova said in an interview with the national radio on Sunday, reports TASS.

By the end of June, the Bulgarian Ministry of Energy must provide Russia with the various options for using the Belene NPP equipment. This is written in a summary of the talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Bulgarian counterpart Rumen Radev in Sochi, according to Russian state news agency TASS, quoted by Actualno.com.

Bulgaria started construction of a national repository for low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste yesterday, marking the occasion with a ceremony. The repository is being built at the Radiana site, close to the Kozloduy nuclear power plant.

Lawmakers in Bulgaria have turned down a proposal to scrap a ban on proceeding with the construction of Belene nuclear power plant (NPP).

Russian energy giant Rosatom will ensure that reactors for the abandoned Belene nuclear power plant (NPP) will be properly stored after being received by Bulgaria, media outlets report.

There are three potential investors in abandoned Belene nuclear power plant (NPP) project, outgoing Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova said on Wednesday.

Petkova told the Bulgarian National Radio the real investment interest would only be measured through a privatization procedure.

If a procedure to privatize the Belene nuclear power plant (NPP) project takes place, it will certainly be successful, Bulgarian Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova has said.

"We can only saw what the real investment interest is after a privatization procedure," Petkova has told the Bulgarian National Television in an interview.

Presidential election results in Bulgaria are unlikely renew talks on Belene nuclear power plant (NPP) and South Stream projects, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said earlier this week.

However while the prospects to revive them "are minimal", Peskov stressed that Russia had always backed expanding cooperation with Bulgaria and would continue to do so.