Bulgaria may stop the transit of Russian gas to Serbia and Hungary due to sanctions imposed on the Russian gas company Gazprom. Bulgarian caretaker Minister of Energy, Vladimir Malinov, stated that Bulgaria could halt the transit if Gazprom, which is sanctioned by the US, fails to find a way to make payments.

Minister Malinov emphasized that Bulgartransgaz, the Bulgarian gas transmission system operator, will strictly adhere to the contract and will not allow gas transit if the service remains unpaid. He also noted that Bulgargas, the state-owned Bulgarian gas company, has received all payments and is awaiting proposals from Gazprom. This statement follows the imposition of US sanctions on Gazprombank in November, which had previously acted as an intermediary for payments related to Russian gas transactions. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin rescinded this condition in early December.

Some countries, including Hungary, have sought exemptions from the sanctions to maintain their gas supplies. Hungary continues to rely heavily on Russian gas, with long-term contracts in place with Gazprom.

In 2022, 4.8 billion cubic meters of gas flowed into Hungary through the TurkStream pipeline and its branches via Bulgaria and Serbia. According to Hungarian data, this volume increased to 5.6 billion cubic meters in 2023.

The TurkStream pipeline through Bulgaria was built during the government of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov. Subsequent investigations revealed that the pipeline largely served the interests of Gazprom and Russia, despite being funded by Bulgaria’s national budget.

Bulgaria does not receive gas through TurkStream, and its only potential benefit from the pipeline is the transit fees, as per its contract with Gazprom, which has almost completely booked the pipeline’s capacity until 2035.