Bulgaria threatened to stop the transit of Russian gas through 'Turkish Stream'.

Ukrainian Bulgaria plans to stop the transit of Russian gas to Serbia via the 'Turkish Stream' pipeline starting next year. This will happen if the Russian company Gazprom does not pay for services according to US sanctions against its bank - Gazprombank.

Vladimir Malinov, Bulgaria's Minister of Energy, told Ukrinform that Bulgartransgaz, the company responsible for gas transportation in Bulgaria, cannot continue this work if it does not receive payment for December from Gazprombank. Payments have always been made through this bank, but now it is under sanctions.

Gazprombank owns the main reserve capacity of the 'Turkish Stream' pipeline in Bulgaria, which leads to Serbia, with a validity period until 2039. Therefore, payments from Gazprombank are critically important for Bulgartransgaz's operation.

However, recent US sanctions against the Russian bank have complicated financial operations.

The conflicting scenario increases uncertainty regarding the future operation of the pipeline, which is key for the transit of Russian natural gas bypassing Ukraine. This pipeline was created after the failed 'South Stream' project, the media resource reports.

It is expected that the Russian energy giant will soon disclose its payment plan, Malinov stated.