Sofia, Bulgaria: Democratic Bulgaria MP and deputy chairman of the energy committee in the Parliament – Ivaylo Mirchevon, speaking on Saturday (April 23), stated that the European nation is all set to be independent of Russia in terms of gas supplies.
For the present time, Bulgaria is among the European states who still depend on Russia for its 90% of gas.
The Bulgarian MP stated, “Even if Russia stops supplying gas to Bulgaria, alternative ways of supplying gas have already been provided, and the routes are clear. At the moment, the only problem is the price. Moreover, Bulgaria will become a country that will support the supply of natural gas to Western Europe”.
Following the above statement, he then added, “I hope that with the joint actions of the European Union by the end of the year, we will achieve good prices, and this issue will be resolved. In this regard, the government is doing its job”.
The gas interconnector of Bulgaria with Greece will kick start its operations from after July this year only, following which the Balkan state will be able to get access to adequate gas from Azerbaijan to meet its domestic requirements.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, criticising the action of the country, several states and international organisations have imposed sanctions on Russia.
Speaking recently on the matter, the German Chancellor – Olaf Scholz, stated that the gas embargo would not lead to the end of the ongoing war.
He asserted, “I do not think that imposing a gas embargo on Russia would be fruitful and stop the war. If Vladimir Putin were open to economic arguments, he would never have commenced this insane war”.
Russia is the second-largest crude oil exporter of gas. The statement of the German Chancellor comes after the EU proposes to cut off the EU demand for Russian gas by two-thirds before the year ends.