Bulgaria Manages to Obtain Lower Gas Prices from Russia

Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov (r), announced the Bulgarian side has achieved a coveted lowering of the prices of Russian gas for the country. The Bulgarian delegation was led by Energy Minister, Traicho Traikov (l). Photo by BGNES

The negotiations with Russia to lower the prices of natural gas for Bulgaria have been successful, Bulgaria’s Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, informs.

Borisov spoke at a press conference after the signing of the so-called road map for the Russian gas line “South Stream” comprising the stages and deadlines of execution of the project.

In addition to the lower prices, intermediaries would no longer be used when negotiating gas supplies and the contracts will be concluded directly by Bulgargaz.

Borisov further informed the negotiations were extremely tough, adding he wanted to thank Shmatko for not leaving Friday evening.

“We could not find any grounds for agreement with the Russian delegation until 3 am, and continued the talks early Saturday morning. It was this difficult because Russia calculates the prices on the market principle, and these prices will lead to the bankruptcy on many factories in Bulgaria,” the PM told reporters.

The exact amount of the reduction and whether Bulgaria has made the lowering of prices a condition for signing the South Stream road map remain unclear.

The commitment of the Bulgarian side was cast in doubt after negative comments on the part of PM Boyko Borisov end of June, but Bulgaria's stance was considerably more favorable during talks held in Sofia last week.

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