Russia ups ante, cutting gas to Poland, Bulgaria

Bulgaria has accused Russia of abusing its gas exports as an economic and political weapon, following the announcement by Russian energy company Gazprom that it would stop supplying the EU country.

“Bulgaria will not negotiate under pressure,” Energy Minister Alexander Nikolov said, adding that the supply for important clients was secure for at least another month. Further steps were to be decided at a meeting of experts yesterday.

“Bulgaria is a long-term loyal partner on the basis of the existing agreement, which sees payments in dollars,” he said.

Russian energy giant Gazprom yesterday halted gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland for failing to pay for gas in roubles, the Kremlin’s toughest response yet to the crippling sanctions imposed by the West for the invasion of Ukraine.

Poland and Bulgaria are the first countries to have their gas cut off by Europe’s main supplier since the February 24 invasion of Ukraine that has killed thousands of people, displaced millions more and raised fears of a broader conflict.

“Gazprom has completely suspended gas supplies to Bulgargaz [Bulgaria] and PGNiG [Poland] due to absence of payments in roubles,” Gazprom said in a statement.

Gazprom also warned that transit via Poland and Bulgaria – which host pipelines supplying Germany, Hungary and Serbia – would be cut if gas was taken illegally.

Warsaw and Sofia said the halt to supplies was a breach of contract by Gazprom, the world’s biggest natural gas company.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered European countries to pay for gas in roubles after the West froze Russian assets and largely cut Moscow out of the West’s economic system over the war in Ukraine.

Putin has demanded that countries he terms “unfriendly” agree to a scheme under which they would open accounts at Gazprombank and make payments for Russian gas imports in euros or dollars that would be converted into roubles.

“Payments for gas supplied from April 1 must be made in roubles using the new payments details, about which the counterparties were informed in a timely manner,” Gazprom said.

Poland has repeatedly said it will not pay for Russian gas in roubles and has planned not to extend its gas contract with Gazprom after it expires at the end of this year. It said it did not need to draw on reserves and its gas storage was 76 per cent full.

The Yamal-Europe pipeline across Poland supplies Russian gas to Germany, though it has mostly been working in a reverse mode this year, supplying gas eastward from Germany. Bulgaria is a transit country for gas supplies to Serbia and Hungary.

Bulgaria, which is almost completely reliant on Russian gas imports, said the proposed new payment scheme was in breach of its arrangement with Gazprom. It has held talks to import liquefied natural gas through neighbouring Turkey and Greece.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said he had spoken with the president of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

Speaking ahead of a government meeting, Petkov said: “I want to reassure all Bulgarian citizens that they can rest at ease: there is a clear plan. The European response will be unified.”

He said that the issue of Russian gas imports “will be a test of European solidarity”.

There are concerns the gas embargo could do serious damage to the Bulgarian economy, which relies almost completely on Russia for natural gas.

However, a pipeline to neighbouring Greece is due to be completed in June.

Ukraine has accused Russia of “blackmailing Europe” over energy in an attempt to break its allies as fighting entered a third month.

Poland has been a strong supporter of neighbouring Ukraine during the Russian invasion and has acted as a transit point for weapons the United States and other Western nations have provided to Kyiv.