SOFIA, March 19. /TASS/. Bulgaria will not negotiate a new gas supplies contract with Russia’s Gazprom to replace the current one, which expires on December 31, 2022, Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Asen Vasilev said on Saturday.
"In the current situation, we have no possibility to hold negotiations with Gazprom," he said in an interview with Bulgaria’s national radio.
According to Vasilev, his country "has alternatives" to a new agreement with Gazprom. In his words, gas can be supplied to Bulgaria via the trans-Balkan gas pipeline, which has a capacity of around 20 billion cubic meters whereas Bulgaria needs only some three cubic meters. Apart from that, the country can count on gas supplies from Azerbaijan and on liquefied gas supplies.
Experts also told TASS that Bulgaria can receive gas from alternative sources but its price will be much higher.