Bulgaria, one of the first countries to be affected by the suspension of Russian gas supplies in April, announced on Monday that it was ready to resume negotiations with the giant Gazprom, fearing shortages this winter, AFP reported.

The Balkan country, until now heavily dependent on Moscow for energy, has refused to pay in rubles and has taken several initiatives to diversify its sources of supply.

But the government of pro-European Prime Minister Kyril Petkov was dismissed in a vote of no confidence in June, and the interim cabinet created after him called for “greater moderation” towards Russia, with which Bulgaria is historically close.

“Negotiations with Gazprom Export to resume supplies under the current contract, which expires at the end of December, are ‘now inevitable,'” Bulgaria’s current Energy Minister Rosen Hristov said at a press conference on Monday.

This is the only solution to get an acceptable rate for companies, he explained after gathering employers and unions to support this change of strategy.

“Negotiations with Gazprom will be difficult,” the official warned, however, stressing that their outcome will depend on the government that will be formed in early October.

In response to sanctions imposed by the European Union following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin has demanded that buyers of Russian gas in “unfriendly” countries pay in rubles through accounts in Russia or risk being cut off.

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