Russian energy minister Sergey Shmatko has now visited Sofia twice in less than three months, achieving the same result on each occasion – absolutely nothing.

Beneath the usual stable of positive spin like "constructive dialogue", "mutual understanding" and "common interest", there were once again no tangible results to be seen at the end of two days of meetings.

The bottom line has remained unchanged since Boiko Borissov’s Cabinet took office in July: Bulgaria is not as keen as it once was on the joint energy projects with Russia and will no longer rush into carrying out the existing plans, which have encountered the resistance of a considerable part of the Bulgarian public, while Russia will give equally short shrift to Bulgaria’s demands for ironclad guarantees of gas deliveries and a supply contract signed directly with Gazprom.

Neither side looks likely to blink in this stand-off. The absence of any breakthrough since Borissov’s chilly meeting with Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin in September is a clear indication that a tit-for-tat proposal was either not made or has not been seriously considered.

Fortunately for Borissov, he can afford to postpone indefinitely the resolution of the current impasse without fearing any repercussions on his public approval ratings. For all of Putin’s trademark posturing during the meeting in September, Russia needs those projects to succeed much more than Bulgaria does.

Redrawing South Stream’s sketchy route would hardly be the disaster painted by certain lobbies in Bulgaria and, while technically possible, would only add to the pipeline’s cost because avoiding Bulgaria would increase the length of the pipeline. As for Bourgas-Alexandroupolis, the eight-digit figures (in euro) bandied about as the potential transit fees that Bulgaria would be entitled to, are nothing compared to more than a billion euro that Bulgaria’s tourism industry is worth.

And in the case of Belene, Russia badly needs a signature project to sell its third-generation light-water reactor technology in the EU. Bulgaria, should it choose to boost its nuclear capacity, can add half the planned capacity of Belene at a tenth of the cost by building a new unit at the Kozloduy station.

For Bulgaria, the only need that these projects would satisfy is that felt by some politicians to "turn Bulgaria into the energy centre of the Balkans". In the name of this vain pursuit, which completely ignores the changed energy map of the region and the new production capacities already under construction, some would see Bulgaria go deep into debt.

The example of Greece, spending so heavily on something it did not really need but really wanted (the Athens Olympic Games), is unlikely to cool such passions, so Russia’s strategy of playing hardball with the new government in Sofia could prove a blessing in disguise.