Bulgaria must hold talks with Russia's state-controlled energy giant Gazprom on the resumption of gas deliveries that were halted in April, interim Energy Minister Rossen Hristov said on August 22.
Hristov did not say when talks would take place. He said Sofia would hold talks with Azerbaijan this week to boost Azerbaijani gas supplies and would discuss such deliveries with Turkish gas traders.
"Given the demands of business and the trade unions, in reality, talks with Gazprom to renew supplies are inevitable," the minister said.
Gazprom cut the deliveries to Bulgaria on April 27 as Sofia refused to pay for gas in rubles following a new scheme floated by President Vladimir Putin as a form of reprisal for the international sanctions that followed Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
The contract between Gazprom Export and Bulgargaz expires at the end of the year.
The previous government led by Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said it had notified Gazprom every month that Sofia was willing to pay for the gas in U.S. dollars as specified in the contract, but that there was no answer from Gazprom.