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Ukraine war : Russia halts gas exports to Poland and Bulgaria
Russia-Ukraine war
WARSAW/SOFIA/KYIV, April 27 (Reuters) - Europe should stop depending on Russia for trade after Moscow halted gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland for not paying in roubles, Ukraine said, as the shutoff exposed the continent's weaknesses and divisions on Wednesday.
"The sooner everyone in Europe recognises that they cannot depend on Russia for trade, the sooner it will be possible to guarantee stability in European markets," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said late on Wednesday.
While the president of the European Commission said Gazprom's move was "yet another attempt by Russia to use gas as an instrument of blackmail", EU member state ambassadors asked the executive for clearer guidance on whether sending euros breached sanctions.
France will host a meeting of EU energy ministers on May 2 to discuss how to deal with Russia's move.
Poland imports gas from Gazprom via the Yamal pipeline
Russian energy giant Gazprom says it has halted gas exports to Poland and Bulgaria over the countries' refusal to pay for supplies in roubles.
The firm said services will not be restored until payments are made in the Russian currency.
It comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered "unfriendly" countries to pay for gas in roubles.
Poland confirmed supplies had stopped, but Bulgaria said it was still unclear whether supplies had been halted.
Countries pay in advance for their gas, but as they have gone to pay for future supplies, Russia has stood firm on its demand made last month that new purchases need to be paid in roubles.
"I'm pretty sure that we will manage to handle this," he told the BBC.
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Polish state gas company PGNiG, which bought 53% of its gas imports from Gazprom in the first quarter of this year, described the suspension as a breach of contract, adding that the company would take steps to reinstate the gas supply.
Meanwhile in Sofia, energy minister Alexander Nikolov said Bulgaria had paid for Russian gas deliveries for April and claimed supplier Gazprom will be in breach of its current contract if it halts the flow.
"Because all trade and legal obligations are being observed, it is clear that at the moment [Russian] natural gas is being used more as a political and economic weapon in the current war," Mr Nikolov said.
Bulgaria, which relies on Gazprom for more than 90% of its gas supply, said it had taken steps to find alternative sources but no restrictions on gas consumption were currently required.
The executive director of Bulgarian gas network operator Bulgartransgaz said supplies to Bulgaria were still currently flowing.
Bulgaria also transports Russian gas via an extension of the Turk Stream pipeline to neighbouring Serbia and from there to Hungary. Hungary and Austria also said gas supplies were normal.
The Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Petr Fiala, said the country has had no signals or information on any interruption to its gas supplies, but must be prepared for any scenario.
The central European country is almost entirely dependent on Russia for its gas.
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