Bulgaria's Prime Minister Kiril Petkov on Thursday urged Europe to be "stronger" and find alternatives to Russian gas, during a visit to Ukraine.
Russia on Wednesday cut off gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland, both EU and NATO members in a move Brussels described as "blackmail".
"We have to be stronger. We have to be tough," the Bulgarian prime minister said in Irpin, one of the commuter towns outside Kyiv where Moscow is accused of committing war crimes following its February 24 invasion of Ukraine.
Bulgaria has "alternative choices" to Russian gas flows, Petkov said, adding that: "If we are able to do it, everybody in Europe should be able to."
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has said Warsaw and Sofia are now receiving gas from their EU neighbours.
Last year, Russia supplied 32 percent of the total gas demand of the European Union and Britain, up from 25 percent in 2009, according to the International Energy Agency, although the situation varies significantly from country to country.
Petkov said Moscow, which wants countries to make their payments in rubles since its invasion of Ukraine, cannot be seen as a trusted supplier.
"Today we have to pay in rubles. Tomorrow it will be the price. The next day it will the quantities," he said.
"You either have a contract that you respect, or nobody respects you," he added.
Standing where alleged Russian atrocities were committed in Irpin, Petkov said Bulgaria stands with Ukraine and pledged to "provide all the help necessary."
Russian President Vladimir "Putin should realise that he cannot win this war," the Bulgarian politician said.
