Bulgaria will no longer negotiate with Russian energy giant Gazprom, the country's Deputy Prime Minister Asen Vasilev said.

He added that the contract with the company expires at the end of 2022, but Russia suspended supplies ahead of schedule unilaterally, Euractiv reported.

"Bulgaria will never negotiate with Gazprom for supplies again," Vasilev told parliament.

"When someone stops your gas, even if you pay and fulfill your contract, you cannot count on that same person not stopping your gas when you find yourself in a difficult situation. We have a partner who turned out to be unreliable," he added.

Bulgaria's state-owned gas company Bulgargaz still regularly reminds Gazprom that it does not fulfill its contractual obligations.

The Deputy Prime Minister added that the Russian Federation stopped supplies to the countries with low consumption and with which the contract is due or has already expired, demanding to pay for the energy resources in rubles. At the same time, he resented, Moscow still accepts payments in euros and dollars from some countries.

Bulgaria and Poland were the first two EU countries to whom Gazprom cut off gas supplies on April 27 after they refused to pay in rubles. From July 1, Sofia will receive full supplies of Azerbaijani gas, which will probably lead to a further decrease in gas prices, writes Euractiv.

"Gazprom stopped gas supplies to Denmark and the UK because of non-payment in rubles. And earlier to the Netherlands.