/ world today news/ I do not consider that the probability of the interruption of gas supplies to Bulgaria is high, without excluding it. Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski told Bulgarian journalists in Brussels, quoted by BTA.
He participated in the nearly eight-hour extraordinary meeting of the European Council dedicated to the crisis in Ukraine. I am most concerned about the gas supply. According to our estimates, we consider the degree of credibility of the interruption of gas supplies to be low, he explained. Tourism is not the direction that will suffer the most, the prime minister said on the occasion of the decisions of today’s meeting of the EU heads of state and government related to Russia.
The Prime Minister announced that his colleagues today called on Moscow to immediately withdraw its armed forces from Ukrainian territory and provide access to international observers. The adopted decisions express support for the territorial integrity and independence of Ukraine. The EU condemns the decision of the parliament of Crimea to call a referendum on joining the Russian Federation and presents it as unconstitutional.
The solution to the problem must be reached in Russia-Ukraine talks, the European leaders added. They have confirmed the decision to suspend negotiations with Russia on visa issues, as well as the EU countries, part of the G-8, to stop their preparations for participation in the upcoming meeting of the group in Sochi until further notice.
Any further steps by Russia to escalate tensions will lead to new measures affecting economic sectors, today’s rulings said. European leaders who spoke today with new Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk have backed his insistence on signing the association agreement with Kiev.
The political part of the document will be signed soon, and the commercial part will be subject to additional negotiations between Brussels and Moscow. The European Council has confirmed the provision of 11 billion euros for Ukraine, as well as the commitment to visa liberalization. The signing of the association agreements with Georgia and Moldova no later than August this year is also supported.
The Prime Minister commented that any sanctions against Russia would not have a positive effect on anyone in the EU, not only Bulgaria. The issue is to normalize the situation in Ukraine, which in this form represents a threat to security in the region and concerns us. No one is in favor of expanding the scope of sanctions, added Oresharski. Asked how likely the current dispute is to turn into a frozen conflict, he commented that there is a potential danger.
It seems unlikely to me because Russia and the EU have no interest in it. I believe that the dialogue will lead to relatively quick solutions to the settlement of the main outstanding issues. There are bound to be potential problems in the future. We see that at other points around the borders of the former USSR near Russia there are conflicts that have not been fully resolved, but do not hinder the normal development of the countries.
There is a difference with other parts of the world, where solutions have not been found for decades. Here I am more optimistic about reaching a solution, said the Prime Minister.
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