An April 27, 2022, Bulgaria seemed to be on the brink of collapse. In addition to Poland, it was the first country to which Gazprom had unilaterally canceled deliveries despite the current contract, literally overnight. That was a hard blow. Hardly any other country in the EU was as dependent on Russian gas as Bulgaria. Almost all of the gas consumed in the country came from Russia. Some people immediately drew up doomsday scenarios: there was a threat of collapsing industry, cold apartments, poverty and misery. Bulgaria will be the first country where Putin demonstrates what it costs to oppose him, it said.
It didn’t happen that way. Within a few months, the Balkan state managed to free itself completely and permanently from its dependence on Gazprom. The international solidarity of the democracies, negotiating skills and fortunate timing played a role.
When he took office at the end of 2021, his country was 95 percent dependent on Russian gas, said former Bulgarian Prime Minister Kyrill Petkov in an interview with the FAZ. That is why Bulgaria was in favor of a complete oil and gas boycott against Moscow immediately after the start of the Russian attack on Ukraine had not been prepared: “Industry would have stood still overnight, and heating would also have become difficult.” When Gazprom actually cut the lines a good two months after the start of the most recent Russian war because Sofia refused to switch payments from dollars to rubles , Petkow was asked as a crisis manager.
The timing was also helpful
After the end of the heating season, the filling level of the only Bulgarian gas storage facility in the town of Chiren in the north-west of the country had fallen to 17 percent. “We literally only had gas for a few days,” Petkow describes the dramatic situation. He traveled to the United States, asked for help from Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. With success. Harris and Blinken were “very constructive”. “They wanted to show that Russia cannot successfully use gas as a weapon.” The result: Two tankers with American liquid gas set sail for Bulgaria at short notice, at reasonable prices. “That was great from the USA, it really helped because it went practically overnight and we had to do something.” However, it was now also necessary to secure suitable ports in order to unload the cargo and feed it into the Bulgarian grid in regasified form. The matter almost failed because of that. “The berths were booked out well in advance everywhere in the region,” says Petkow. “Here I have to thank Turkey. The Turkish government created short-term capacity for the two tankers in its ports.” He particularly emphasizes the role played by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
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