Bulgarian PM: Russia blackmails by shutting gas off

Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov called the cessation of gas supplies by Russia blackmail at a governmental meeting on April 27.

“The termination of gas supplies by Russia’s Gazprom company is the gross violation of the corresponding agreement and blackmail to implement a plan to pay for gas in rubles through third parties, which does not guarantee either supplies or the preservation of Bulgarian money,” TASS reports.

“We will not succumb to this kind of blackmail. Bulgaria complies with all agreements with Gazprom, including the transit agreement, one-sided arm-twisting action is unacceptable,” the prime minister said.

The prime minister informed about a telephone conversation with President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, stressing that the unilateral violation of the agreement between Gazprom and Bulgaria is a problem for the EU, rather than a problem for Bulgaria, and the response to these actions will be common.