Bulgaria and Ukraine Discussed Liquefied Natural Gas Supplies

Prime Minister Rumen Radev discussed cooperation between Bulgaria and Ukraine in the energy sector and the supply of energy resources, including natural gas, with President Volodymyr Zelensky. This was stated in a brief press release from the press office of the Council of Ministers following the bilateral meeting in Ankara, held on the sidelines of the NATO Summit.

Energy diversification and steps taken to build new energy corridors to Europe were also among the highlights of the meeting, according to the press release.

A little more detail is provided in the statement by Volodymyr Zelensky himself, who also posted a message on his Facebook profile following the meeting.

The President of Ukraine described the meeting with Radev as important for bilateral cooperation.

Our countries need strong relations, and we discussed this today,” Zelensky wrote.

In particular, he noted, discussions were held on energy issues:

We can do a lot together, especially with regard to liquefied natural gas (LNG). Europe’s dependence on Russian energy resources is decreasing, and it is important for partners to have alternatives,” the President of Ukraine added.

We would like to remind you that Bulgaria is working at an accelerated pace to implement projects on its territory that are part of the Vertical Gas Corridor, which will connect the liquefied natural gas terminals in the Aegean Sea with Ukraine. According to the plan, the expanded capacities of the two key interconnection points – Kulata/Sidirokastro on the border with Greece and Negru Voda/Cardam on the border with Romania – are to be put into operation by the end of 2026.

These two projects form the foundation of an ambitious “corridor” running from south to north, which will enable the transmission of up to 10 billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas annually – including from U.S. LNG terminals in Greece – to Ukraine and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

In addition to energy, security in the Black Sea was also discussed during the meeting.

Rumen spoke about his diplomatic contacts and what Bulgaria is doing to ensure security in the Black Sea. We agreed that our teams will stay in touch. I invited the Prime Minister to Ukraine,” Zelensky wrote.

Translated with DeepL.