Bulgaria ruled out an embargo on energy supplies from Russia | News from Germany about Europe | DW

Bulgaria ruled out its participation in a possible ban on energy imports from Russia to Europe “We cannot afford to stop importing oil and gas from Russia,” Prime Minister Kirill Petkov told reporters on Tuesday, March 8.

At the same time, he stressed that Sofia fully supports Ukraine, as well as the current sanctions imposed by the European Union against Russia in connection with military aggression against Ukraine.

Bulgaria, the poorest country in the EU, remains almost entirely dependent on Russian energy supplies. However, Sophia is making efforts to reduce this addiction. In particular, the gas pipeline under construction from the city of Komotini in northeastern Greece to Stara Zagora in central Bulgaria will help supply the country with gas from alternative suppliers, dpa notes.

Gas prices break records

The day before, the price of natural gas in Europe reached a new high At the TTF hub in the Netherlands on March 7, April futures were worth almost $3,900 per 1,000 cubic meters. The rise in energy prices, according to experts, may also be due to the likelihood of an embargo on the supply of Russian crude oil. As US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on March 6, the US administration is conducting “very active discussions” with its European partners on this matter. Similar measures have been discussed in Japan.

In turn, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak hinted at possible Russian sanctions measures in the energy sector “In connection with unfounded accusations against Russia regarding the energy crisis in Europe and the ban on Nord Stream 2, we have full the right to make a “mirror” decision and impose an embargo on the flow of gas through the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, which today is loaded at a maximum level of 100%,” he told the Interfax news agency.

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  Author: Andrey Gurkov