Bulgaria will not renew the contract with Gazprom

By Trend

Bulgaria will not hold talks with Russian energy giant Gazprom to renew its natural gas purchase deal and will be looking at alternative supplies, Deputy Prime Minister Assen Vassilev said, Trend reports citing Reuters.

The European Union country meets almost all of its gas needs with Russian gas under a 10-year deal with Gazprom, which expires at the end of 2022.

"In this situation, there cannot be talks with Gazprom... There are alternatives," Vassilev told public BNR radio. "This is not just Bulgaria, this is a common European strategy."

Vassilev said Sofia will be looking to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) from terminals in neighbouring Turkey and Greece and increase the amount of Azerbaijani gas it can receive.

Vassilev said Bulgaria is supporting the idea of a joint gas supply contract for the EU, which could eliminate competition between member states and yield better prices because of the higher volumes.