MOSCOW, August 22. /TASS/. Bulgaria will hold negotiations with Gazprom Export, the export arm of the Russian gas holding Gazprom, on natural gas supplies, Energy Minister of the national caretaker government Rosen Hristov said at the briefing on Monday.

"The Bulgarian business cannot cope with the high gas price, which in practice makes inevitable talks with Gazprom Export on resumption of gas supplies within the current agreement framework," the Minister said. It will be difficult to reach the agreement, he noted. The country will also hold talks on extra gas supplies with Azerbaijan.

Resolution of the gas supply issue fully depends on the position of Bulgarian politicians, Russian Ambassador in Bulgaria Eleonora Mitrofanova told TASS in the interview on Sunday.

On April 27, Gazprom halted gas supplies to Bulgaria in view of the failure to pay in rubles within the prescribed period.