Russia To Cut Bulgaria's Gas Supplies

Russia's energy giant, Gazprom has informed Bulgarian state gas company, Bulgargaz that it will halt gas supplies.

The energy ministry stated on Tuesday, that Bulgaria, almost completely reliant on Russian gas imports, has taken steps to find alternative arrangements for the supply of natural gas and to deal with the situation

The energy ministry said in a statement that Bulgaria would be the second country after Poland to have its gas cut off by Europe's main supplier since Russia started the invasion of Ukraine.

Russian President, Vladimir Putin has demanded that countries he terms "unfriendly" agree to implement 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 rubles.

He had also threatened to cut gas supplies if the demands would not be fully met.

Bulgaria consumes about 3 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas per year and imports over 90% of it from Russia.