Bulgaria could cut the transit of Russian natural gas through its territory to Serbia if Gazprom Export does not find a way to pay for this transit without the participation of US-sanctioned Gazprombank, said caretaker Energy Minister Vladimir Malinov on December 10. 

The Biden administration in the US imposed sanctions on Gazprombank, the institution responsible for processing Europe’s payments for Russian natural gas, on November 21. This action was part of a new series of measures targeting Russia’s financial sector. The sanctions were intended to intensify pressure on the Kremlin in anticipation of forthcoming negotiations with the incoming Trump administration on the war Ukraine.

“[State-owned gas transmission operator] Bulgartransgaz fulfills its contractual relations on time and with the required quality. From now on, it is the responsibility of the company that has reserved the capacity and which has made payments through Gazprombank to find a solution if it wants to continue to use the provided service,” Malinov said, according to Mediapool  and other local news outlets.

He added that the US sanctions have a transition period and the transit of Russian gas to Serbia will not be stopped by the end of December. However, a solution must be found by December 20.

“We are waiting for the proposal from Gazprom Export. Now there is still no solution, I am not informed that there is a proposed solution,” Malinov added.

Revenues from transit of natural gas to Serbia make up a significant part of Bulgartransgaz’s revenues. In the first half of this year, the income from transit led to 196% spike in the gas transmitting operator’s revenue to BGN173.71mn (€88.8mn).