MOSCOW, Apr 28, 2009 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- Russia and Bulgaria will sign documents concerning the construction of the South Stream gas pipeline for the Bulgarian part within two weeks, said Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin here on Tuesday.

"We have no disagreements left," the Itar-Tass news agency quoted Putin as saying after negotiations with his visiting Bulgarian counterpart Sergei Stanishev.

"The earlier disagreements were purely technical. For instance, it was necessary to link South Stream to previous gas accords," said Putin. "We agreed that we might end the negotiations today and made certain that the proposals were acceptable."

Putin pulled out from the two-day World Energy Summit held in Sofia last week in the last minute. Earlier media reports indicated that his apparent boycott was caused by disagreement with Bulgaria over the South Stream project.

The deal will be concluded between Russian gas giant Gazprom and the Bulgarian Energy Holding, said Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev also hoped that the deal can be inked as soon as possible.

"As far as I understand, there is a final agreement on the energy project. I hope that we will sign the documents in the near future despite certain problems in their drafting," said Medvedev when meeting with Stanishev on Tuesday.

In response, Stanishev said: "I am glad that the Bulgarian proposal discussed with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was accepted. "

The South Stream project of Gazprom and Italy's Eni is regarded as strengthening Russia's grip on Europe, allowing Moscow to bypass Ukraine and pump gas directly to Europe via an alternative route under the Black Sea.

South Stream is due to run into operation in 2015, according to Itar-Tass.