Bulgaria says it is ready to help Moldova with gas supplies

Bulgarian Energy Minister Vladimir Malinov has said that the republic is ready to help Moldova with gas supplies. He said in an interview with Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) on December 30.

"We are in constant contact with Moldovan Energy Minister [Viktor Parlikov], so they also rely on us. We are ready to support them with access both through liquefied natural gas and through the state supplier Bulgargaz the moment they ask for this assistance," Malinov said.

The minister recalled that Bulgaria and Moldova have signed an agreement on crisis response.

It is noted that Malinov did not answer the question whether the transit through the territory of Bulgaria will be interrupted on March 21, 2025, if by that time no way to pay for it will be found.

Gas for that: Moldavia expects protests after transit through Ukraine is cut off

With whom Chisinau will have to negotiate now

On the previous day, Victor Bynzar, advisor to the director of the Moldovan state enterprise Energocom, said that the Transnistria TPP will stop supplying electricity to Moldova from January 1, 2025.

Before that, on December 28, Andrei Safonov, a deputy of the Supreme Council of the unrecognized Transnistrian Moldovan Republic (TMR), said that Transnistria accused Moldova of being fully responsible for the gas crisis.

On the same day, the press service of Gazprom said that from January 1 it would stop supplies to Moldova because of the country's failure to repay its debts. In turn, Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean did not recognize the debt and threatened to sue.

Before that, on December 23, it was reported that protests may start in Moldova because of the difficult energy situation in the republic due to the cessation of gas transit through Ukraine.

Since December 1, 2024, the price of gas in Moldova has increased by 27.5%. Since December 16, a state of emergency regime has been in effect in Moldova due to the possible termination of Russian gas transit through Ukraine. On 6 December, a state of emergency was also introduced in Transnistria due to the situation in the energy sector.