The analyst called the risks for Bulgaria after the refusal of transit of Russian gas

Bulgaria's refusal to transit Russian gas could have extremely significant economic consequences for the country. This was announced on October 1 by Ekaterina Kosareva, Managing partner of the analytical agency VMT Consult.

"Russia has traditionally been the main supplier of fuel, and a significant part of the Bulgarian energy system has relied on this resource for decades. Even after the launch of the interconnector with Greece and the connection to Azerbaijani gas, the share of supplies from Russia remained critically high. Thus, the abrupt abandonment of transit and purchases creates the risk of energy shortages and rising prices for the domestic market," Kosareva said.

According to the expert, the European Union (EU) can promise Bulgaria assistance in diversifying gas sources, developing LNG terminals in neighboring countries, as well as access to so-called "solidarity" supplies in the event of a crisis. However, all these measures do not provide a guaranteed replacement for the Russian resource in the required volumes.

The specialist noted that Bulgaria is only partially able to compensate for the losses. Azerbaijani gas is limited in volume, and LNG supplies through terminals in Greece and Turkey remain an expensive and competitive option requiring additional investments. Moreover, Bulgaria, like a number of Southeastern European countries, competes for the same supplies with much more solvent consumers from Western Europe.

"Thus, such statements are rather a political step. Bulgaria's dependence on Russian supplies remains a fact, and it is extremely difficult to replace them with resources of comparable price and stability in the foreseeable future. EU preferences are unlikely to compensate for the strategic loss, and the result may be higher prices for the economy and the country's population," Kosareva summed up.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on September 26 that the country had received guarantees from Bulgaria, according to which Russian gas transit would flow through the Turkish Stream pipeline to Central Europe. The Minister noted that most of the natural gas enters Bulgaria not only through its territory, but also through Serbia. The Hungarian Foreign minister added that the European Commission's plan to completely abandon the EU from Russian energy sources is "terrible."

Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov made this statement on the same day at the UN General Assembly. He noted that by 2028, Bulgaria, as part of the EU, would join the alliance's decision and allegedly completely abandon Russian supplies by the designated period.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.