Bulgaria PM gets cool reception at Moscow gas talks

By Simon Shuster and Katya Golubkova

MOSCOW, April 27 (Reuters) - Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev got a frosty reception from Russia's leaders on Monday and expressed no clear hopes that a gas pipeline deal with Moscow would be reached during his two-day official visit.

Not only did President Dmitry Medvedev unexpectedly postpone his meeting with Stanishev with no official explanation, but Prime Minister Vladimir Putin took a jab at Bulgaria during his welcome speech that evoked load groans from the crowd.

The official visit, which is to focus on getting Bulgaria to commit to a role in Russia's proposed South Stream gas route to Europe, had already been clouded by a string of disputes.

In January, Bulgaria was among the countries worst affected by the gas dispute between Russian and Ukraine that cut off supplies to millions of European consumers.

Last week, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin pulled out of a gas conference in Sofia because the Bulgarian government was not willing to quickly commit to South Stream. The first day of Stanishev's visit also did not go smoothly.

Medvedev's scheduled meeting with Stanishev was postponed at the last minute, leaving only one day -- Tuesday -- for the two sides to hammer out an agreement.

The Kremlin declined to give any explanation of the move. Stanishev, when asked to comment, said: "It appears the schedule is dynamically evolving."

Speaking at a welcome event alongside Stanishev, Putin took an apparent jab at Bulgaria's meagre investments in Russia.