No bargaining “under pressure”
Bulgaria: Gas stop is Russia’s political weapon
04/27/2022, 11:49 am
Because Bulgaria and Poland do not pay for Russian gas in rubles, Gazprom has stopped supplies to both countries. Bulgaria’s Energy Minister Nikolov criticizes Russia for abusing natural gas as a political and economic weapon. One would not negotiate under such “pressure”.
After a freeze on gas supplies to Bulgaria imposed by the Russian energy company Gazprom, the EU country accused Russia of abusing natural gas as a political and economic weapon. “Bulgaria will not conduct negotiations under pressure,” Energy Minister Aleksandar Nikolov said in Sofia. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said it was “another attempt by Russia to use gas as an instrument of blackmail”.
In Bulgaria, the gas supply to important customers is secured for at least a month, said Nikolov. Concrete further steps are to be discussed at an expert meeting. “Bulgaria is a long-term, loyal partner under the existing contract, which provides for payments in dollars,” said Energy Minister Nikolov.
Bulgaria was to stop receiving natural gas from Russia on Wednesday, but deliveries continued in the morning, according to the energy minister. They were expected to be hired later today. Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Kiril Petkov wanted to travel to Kyiv today with a government delegation. After their return, the coalition government in Sofia is to decide on possible arms deliveries to Ukraine.
As announced, Russia also stopped its natural gas deliveries to Poland in the morning. A good 15 years after joining the EU, the poorest EU country is still almost completely dependent on Russian natural gas supplies. A connection to the gas network of neighboring Greece should be ready in June. In this way, the EU country wants to diversify its gas supply sources and also obtain gas from other countries.