SOFIA, April 27. /TASS/. Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov has cried foul over Gazprom’s termination of gas supplies, calling it ‘blackmail’ during a government meeting Wednesday.

"The termination of supplies by Gazprom is a severe violation of the corresponding contract and blackmail, aimed at implementing a gas payment plan via third parties, which guarantees neither gas supplies nor the preservation of Bulgarian money. We will not succumb to this sort of racketeering. Bulgaria abides by all treaties with Gazprom, including the transit agreement, and one-sided twisting of arms is unacceptable," the Prime Minister said.

The Bulgarian premier also disclosed a phone call with European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen, underscoring that "the unilateral violation of the agreement between Gazprom and Bulgaria is not a Bulgarian problem, but a EU problem, and the response to these actions will be collective".