Greece to help Bulgaria after Russia’s gas cuts
Moscow retaliates to sanctions over war in Ukraine
Athens – Greece will offer help to Bulgaria after Russia cut off its gas supply, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told his Bulgarian counterpart yesterday.
“The prime minister said Greece will help Bulgaria to deal with the new situation caused by Russia’s decisions on energy,” Mitsotakis’ office said in a statement.
Russian gas producer Gazprom’s said yesterday it had halted gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland for failing to pay for gas in roubles, the Kremlin’s toughest retaliation yet to international sanctions over the war in Ukraine.
A Greek source said Athens could help Sofia by reversing the flow of the TurkStream pipeline, a mechanism that has been used before. The pipeline brings in Russian gas to Greece via the Black Sea,
Turkey and Bulgaria.
Mitsotakis said a long delayed gas link between the two neighbours, the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB), should be ready by June, Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said. “He (Mitsotakis) also confirmed joint actions for diversification through liquefied natural gas,” said Petkov.
Mitsotakis called an emergency meeting yesterday with energy sector representatives to discuss the impact of Gazprom’s decision on Greece’s gas supply, his office said. Greece relies on Russian gas for more than 30% of its annual energy needs and its next payment to Gazprom is due in May under a contract that expires in 2026.
Athens has not clarified yet how it will make the payment but it has said that it may be able to indefinitely avoid gas supply problems, even if Russia halts flows.
Under a contingency plan, Greece has said it could get additional liquefied and pipeline gas from Azerbaijan and switch four gas-fired electricity plants to diesel. It will also ramp up coal mining in the next two years as a temporary measure.