Russia's demand for gas payments in rubles violates the contracts. An official representative of the Bulgarian government said that it could not be accepted. This was reported by Reuters.
"Bulgaria's position, which has also been agreed at the European level, is that such a violation of existing contracts, which clearly state that payments must be made in euros or U.S. dollars, is not allowed," the spokesman said.
Bulgaria meets more than 90 percent of its gas needs with imports from Russia's Gazprom. Its centrist government held a meeting Wednesday to discuss what measures could be taken if Russian gas supplies are cut off, the spokesman said.