Azerbaijan

A renovated medieval fortress was inaugurated in the old Bulgarian capital, Veliko Tarnovo, on Thursday, in a project funded by an Azerbaijani foundation.

SOCAR is interested in entering the Bulgarian oil products market, the head of the Azerbaijani state-owned oil company has said.

"Talks are underway" with Bulgarian officials, Trend News Agency quotes Murad Heydarov, the head of SOCAR Balkan, as telling reporters.

Heydarov has also described the possibility as a "long-term project".

Mehriban Aliyeva, the First Lady of Azerbaijan, is set to arrive in Bulgaria on September 22.

Aliyeva will head to Veliko Tarnovo, the old capital of Bulgaria, where she will unveil Southeast Europe's biggest open-air museum that has been renovated with funding granted by her foundation.

Turkish counter-terror police detained 40 foreign nationals in raids in Istanbul over their suspected links with Islamic State, of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) on Sept. 18.

Police carried out simultaneous raids to 23 addresses in Istanbul's Fatih district detaining suspects from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Azerbaijan.

Four families in Albania have submitted complaints to the European Investment Bank, EIB, over the low level of compensation they have been offered from TAP representatives for the displacement of their properties as a result of building the pipeline.

President (2002-2012) ABV leader Georgi Parvanov has urged the government to begin talks with Russia about possible gas deliveries to the future Balkan Gas Hub.

Parvanov's words come as Bulgaria wants to set up a regional gas distribution center on its territory and has held a conference with investors to discuss possible routes and modes of public-private partnership.

Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Donchev has said the state intends on retaining the ownership of the existing gas infrastructure despite offering a joint venture for the so-called Balkan Gas Hub project.

Some 50% of the new company's shares will be put up for sale. The new entity will be a subsidiary of Bulgartransgaz, the state-owned gas grid operator.

Azerbaijan's state energy company, SOCAR, plans to go ahead with a deal to buy Greek natural gas pipelines operator DESFA, but says that its price should be reduced, SOCAR's president said Sept. 5.

In 2013, SOCAR agreed to buy a 66 percent stake in the crisis-hit gas supply grid operator for 400 million euros ($446.3 million).

A EU Commission official has said Brussels stands ready to get involved in any kind of negotiations over Sofia's gas hub project.

Azerbaijan's state energy company Socar plans to go ahead with a deal to buy Greek natural gas pipelines operator DESFA but says that its price should be reduced, Socar's president said on Monday.