Bulgaria and Ukraine are close to signing an agreement on natural gas transit, according to Petar Vitanov, chairman of the Progressive Bulgaria parliamentary group. Speaking on BNT's Panorama program, Vitanov said the deal is being prepared between the two countries' state gas companies, Bulgargaz and Naftogaz.
“We are before signing an agreement,” Vitanov said, adding that the arrangement would allow larger volumes of gas to move through Bulgaria on their way to Ukraine.
The announcement follows a series of recent meetings between Prime Minister Rumen Radev and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on June 19 and July 8. Until now, both governments had disclosed only limited details, saying the discussions focused on energy cooperation and drones. On Friday, however, Radev revealed that he had met Zelensky three times within a month and said one of the main topics was Ukraine's “huge desire” to import significant quantities of natural gas.
According to both Radev and Vitanov, the planned cooperation is linked to Ukraine's efforts to fill its extensive underground gas storage facilities, which they described as the largest in Europe. Vitanov also said Foreign Minister Velislava Petrova's recent visit to Kyiv was intended to finalize the negotiations that followed the meetings between the Bulgarian and Ukrainian leaders.
