In Bulgaria, they spoke about the “greatest stupidity” in relation to Russia

MOSCOW, 4 Sep — PRIME. Bulgaria will soon have to deal with unaffordable gas prices due to the stupidity of the country’s authorities towards Russia, former Deputy Energy Minister of Bulgaria Yavor Kuyumdzhiyev said on the air of the Bulgaria ON AIR TV channel.

The expert expressed confidence that the cost of fuel would rise rapidly, despite the fact that the Balkan Peninsula had not previously experienced a shortage of gas due to supplies from Russia and, to a lesser extent, Azerbaijan.

“When we ourselves abandoned the contract that guaranteed us deliveries and predictability, what happens is what happens. In practice, we again buy the same Russian gas,” Kuyumdzhiyev said.

The former deputy minister stressed that the Bulgarian authorities would have to take out loans to pay for fuel this winter.

He predicted that in winter “the price of natural gas will be unbearable for both citizens and businesses.” Loans will be the only salvation, he added.

According to Kuyumdzhiyev, there is still no alternative to Russian gas in the region, although the United States continues to convince European countries of the expediency of buying American liquefied natural gas.

“The largest shale gas companies are American. The fact that Pompeo is lobbying American business in Bulgaria is normal, he is protecting business. But even in this crisis, not a single European country is talking about the use of hydraulic fracturing,” the expert explained.

In August, the Bulgarian authorities announced that they refused to discuss the conclusion of a new gas contract with Gazprom. Earlier, Russia switched to settlements in the Russian national currency with unfriendly countries. 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.