Bulgaria decided to raise the issue of payment for Russian gas in rubles in the EC

Bulgaria expects that the European Commission will give additional instructions on the issue of paying for Russian gas in rubles. At the end of April, Sofia refused to comply with Moscow's demands,

Bulgaria will hold talks with the European Commission in the coming days and discuss with its representatives Russia's demand to pay for gas in rubles, Energy Minister Alexander Nikolov told BTV.

“This is a very good question, we will raise it at the level of the European Commission. The level of solidarity and unity must be as high as possible. If there are exceptions, we will look into them and understand how it will affect the entire system,” he said.

As the minister noted, at the moment the EC has made it clear that payments in rubles are a violation of the sanctions. Nikolov said that it is necessary to distinguish between corporations and state-owned companies. Sofia expects the European Commission to give additional instructions, "concrete steps are expected, especially at the level of general supplies and purchases."

The EU considered the disconnection of Poland and Bulgaria from gas as a violation of the contract Politics

According to the decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin, foreign buyers of Russian gas must open foreign currency and ruble accounts with Gazprombank. The company transfers the payment to a foreign currency account, after which the bank sells the currency on the stock exchange, and credits the rubles to the ruble account. RUSSIA recognizes the payment as completed only after the funds are credited to the ruble account.

Bulgaria was one of the first in the EU to refuse to pay for Russian gas under the new procedure. According to the Minister of Energy, Sofia fears that the Russian bank responsible for converting payments into rubles will not comply with the agreements. Nikolov also noted that Sofia has the technical ability to pay in rubles for Russian gas, but at the same time "there are risks."

After that, Gazprom suspended deliveries to this country. French Minister of Environmental Transformation Barbara Pompili called such actions a breach of contracts.

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On May 11, the Bulgarian government announced that it had agreed to buy LNG from the United States, without specifying how the cost of gas would be calculated and how much it would be.

In addition to Bulgaria, Poland and Finland refused to comply with Moscow's demands.

In May, the European Commission sent EU member states recommendations on how to buy Russian gas without violating restrictions. They said that companies can open accounts with Gazprombank and pay for Russian gas in the currency specified in the contract. After payment in euros or dollars, firms must make a "clear statement" that they consider their obligations fulfilled. A few days later, REUTERS reported that Germany and Italy had allowed their companies to open ruble accounts.