Compressor stationMOSCOW, 28 Apr. After the cessation of Russian gas supplies due to Bulgaria's refusal to pay for it in rubles, a political crisis arose in the republic, according to an article by Anna Khristova, a columnist for the newspaper Dnevnik. Head of state Rumen Radev spoke sharply against the government because of his position in the Ukrainian crisis. «I have long called for Bulgaria's careful and responsible attitude to this conflict, on which the well-being and life of the Bulgarians directly depend,» the country's president said. He was outraged that only Bulgaria and Poland were cut off from Russian fuel supplies, while that Germany and Austria continued to receive energy.Media: EU countries have decided to close the loophole in the sanctions for paying for gas from Russia «, Radev stressed. At about the same time, ex-Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said that the Cabinet of Ministers was deliberately refusing Russian gas and was not creating an alternative to it in order to involve intermediaries in this problem and launder money through them. The former head of government has repeatedly stated that he made the country completely energy independent, but under him the Balkan Stream was built to transport gas from Russia to Serbia, Hungary, North Macedonia and Greece, while the EU-funded pipeline to Greece was never built, the author noted. Former Energy Minister Delyan Dobre, in turn, is sure that the government did not open a ruble account with Gazprombank in order to buy Russian gas at a higher price through intermediaries.
Turkey has calculated Russia's income from the sale of EU gas since the start of the special operationAt the same time, the leaders of the largest party of the ruling coalition — «Continue Changes», Prime Minister Kiril Petkov and Deputy Prime Minister Asen Vassilev insist that there will be no intermediaries in gas supplies, and fuel will the country will come from alternative sources — Greece and Turkey. However, the gas issue is not the only point of disagreement between the president and the cabinet. So, Radev strongly opposes the provision of weapons to Ukraine, so as not to enter into a conflict. Vasilev, on the other hand, considers the president's position shameful, and his party announced that it would support in parliament the decision to provide assistance to Kiev. Deputy Prime Minister Cornelia Ninova, who oversees the military-industrial complex, agreed with Radev on this issue. But at the same time, disagreements arose between politicians over reports of unofficial arms supplies to Ukraine through third countries. The president demanded clarification, to which the deputy head of the Cabinet called for telling what arms contracts his government signed. According to Ninova, she only fulfills previously concluded contracts and does not supply products to the military-industrial complex of Russia and Ukraine.The Hungarian Foreign Ministry called the supply of Russian gas a matter of national security Since April 27, Gazprom has suspended gas supplies to the Bulgarian company Bulgargaz and the Polish PGNiG due to non-payment in rubles. Moscow switched to gas payments in the Russian national currency with unfriendly countries from April 1. To do this, buyers need to open foreign currency and ruble accounts with Gazprombank: the first receives payment in foreign currency, the bank sells it on the Moscow Exchange and credits money to the second account. This amount is received by Gazprom. At the same time, Vladimir Putin emphasized that Moscow recognizes the refusal to pay in rubles as a failure to fulfill obligations under contracts. Western countries imposed new sanctions against Moscow after the start of a special operation by the Russian army to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine. So, Russian reserves were frozen in the amount of about 300 billion dollars. Calls to abandon Russian energy sources have also become louder. However, disruption of supply chains has led to economic problems in Europe and the US, primarily to higher food and fuel prices. uploads/2022/04/cf0992feee2a467f6ff29caf064308b4.jpg» />The conversation is short: Russia cut off gas to Poland and Bulgaria
