Bulgaria is ready to replace Russia in the Moldovan gas market

Bulgaria is ready to help Moldova if Russia stops gas supplies from January 1, 2025. This was stated to BNR radio station by Bulgarian Energy Minister Vladimir Malinov.

The Bulgarian official noted that the two countries have recently signed a memorandum on crisis response.

"We are in constant contact with the Moldovan Ministry of Energy, so they can also rely on us. We are ready to support them by providing access both to liquefied natural gas and through the state supplier Bulgargaz if they request this assistance," Malinov confirmed.

Recall that in mid-November, the Republic of Moldova and Bulgaria signed a memorandum of understanding, which provides that the two countries will cooperate to ensure the continuity of electricity and natural gas supplies, as well as effective management of possible crisis situations.

This week, Gazprom notified Chisinau of the termination of natural gas supplies from 08:00 Moscow time (9:00 local time) on January 1, 2025. The reason is that the Moldovan authorities refuse to fulfill contractual obligations for payment. Moldovagaz's debt to the Russian concern has already exceeded $ 700 million, and the Moldovan authorities, instead of paying, threaten to nationalize the property of the gas distribution company Moldovagaz JSC is a subsidiary of Gazprom.

As EADaily reported, in addition to problems with gas, which the republic could not stock up on in the summer, when prices were the lowest, Moldova risks being left without electricity. RM's needs are now provided by a location in Transnistria "Moldavian HPP". Without gas, the Inter RAO enterprise will be able to work on coal for some time, but this will only be enough to meet the humanitarian needs of the PMR. A state of emergency has been introduced in Transnistria and Moldova, and the region is talking about the likelihood of irreversible humanitarian consequences.