Russian gas supplies cut to Bulgaria, Macedonia
All Russian natural gas supplies via Ukraine to Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece and Macedonia were halted today as a result of a price dispute between Moscow and the Ukrainians, Bulgaria’s Economy Ministry said.
“We are in a crisis situation,” a ministry statement said.
Bulgaria, which relies almost entirely on Russian gas for its needs, will be worst hit as, like Macedonia, it has no access to alternative pipeline routes.
The ministry told industrial users to switch to alternative fuels such as oil and urged households to start using other means for heating rather than central systems that run on gas.
Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev called an emergency meeting later on Tuesday to discuss the situation.
Bulgaria, where temperatures dropped below minus 15 degrees overnight, started pumping a maximum 151.8 million cubic feet of gas from its sole storage faility, the ministry said. The country normally consumes about 388.4 million cubic feet a day.
Turkey can receive Russian gas via a pipeline under the Black Sea and Greece gets additional supplies from Ankara.
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