Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
The agreement between Bulgaria's state-owned gas supplier Bulgargaz and Turkey's Botas has entered a new phase after Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed during talks in Ankara to freeze the contract for 15 months. Throughout that period, Bulgaria will pay only for the transmission capacity it actually uses under revised commercial terms, while both sides work toward renegotiating the long-term agreement to reflect current market conditions.
Further reading: Bulgaria, Turkey Freeze Botas Gas Deal for 15 Months, Launch Renegotiation
The decision has reignited debate over one of Bulgaria's most controversial energy contracts in recent years. Speaking on Nova TV, Martin Vladimirov, director of the Energy and Climate Program at the Center for the Study of Democracy, said many details of the new arrangement remain unclear.
"We only know that the contract is frozen. The specific parameters of what was agreed are not yet known," Vladimirov said, noting that the public still lacks information about the exact commitments made by Sofia and Ankara.
