On 6 July 2026, Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to discuss the controversial agreement between Bulgaria and the Turkish state-owned company BOTAŞ. According to Radev, the agreement has been beneficial and prevented Bulgarians from freezing during the winter following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. Nevertheless, he also welcomed the suspension of the deal, which was agreed during the meeting.
The original BOTAŞ agreement was signed in 2023 between Bulgargaz and BOTAŞ by the caretaker government of Galab Donev (who now serves as Finance Minister), which had been appointed by Rumen Radev during his presidency. Caretaker governments in Bulgaria are established to organise elections, not to enter into long-term strategic agreements of this kind. Although the contract remains classified, it soon became clear that Bulgaria had committed to paying approximately €500,000 per day, even if it did not use any gas or related services.
Following the suspension of the BOTAŞ agreement on 6 July, Radev said he will place Bulgaria on Europe’s energy map as a country that “trades gas efficiently.” He did not specify whose gas Bulgaria would be trading.
Radev noted that a protocol had been signed between Bulgargaz from the Bulgarian side and BOTAŞ, highlighting the following points:
- Over the next 15 months, Bulgaria will not pay for pipeline capacity and will only pay if it transports gas through BOTAŞ. This confirms that, under the original agreement, the Bulgarian state was paying for Turkish infrastructure even when it was not using it.
- The agreement will be “optimised.”
- The protocol significantly reduces regasification and transmission costs.
Over the next 15 months, Radev and his government will work to position Bulgaria as a regional “gas trader.”
Radev accused politicians who, over the years, had failed to use or optimise the agreement – or had even sabotaged it – and advised them to find another “talking point” with which to attack him and the government of Progressive Bulgaria.
According to Radev, the accumulated liabilities to BOTAŞ stem from the fact that, since June 2024, Bulgaria has not been paying the amounts stipulated under the agreement.
Radev also stated that Bulgaria owes $360 million and that, under the new protocol, “they” have reached an agreement and will find a solution so that repaying the debt “will not burden Bulgaria’s public finances.” It remains unclear who exactly “they” are or what agreement has been reached.
The Bulgarian Prime Minister said that the protocol has nothing to do with the Black Sea Motorway, free electricity transit through Bulgaria, the waters of the Tundzha and Maritsa rivers, the Han Tervel Block, or even “the air we breathe.” His clarification comes amid speculation over what Bulgaria may have promised in exchange for the temporary suspension of the agreement. According to Radev, the protocol signed on 6 July is unrelated to any other project.
Another sensitive issue is that Turkey’s gas transmission network can be used to transport Russian gas mixed with gas from other countries, potentially allowing EU sanctions to be circumvented. As a result, money paid by Bulgaria could ultimately end up in the Kremlin’s treasury, contributing to the financing of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
According to Radev, the exceptionally favourable terms contained in the new protocol are the result of the trust and friendship between himself and Erdoğan. He said he is convinced that it is in the interests of both countries – and of Europe as a whole – for Bulgaria and Turkey to strengthen cooperation in transport, energy, digital connectivity, and the transmission of green energy. He stressed, however, that these issues are not covered by the protocol.
It is also worth noting that Bulgaria’s Ministers of Economy, Energy, and Transport were in Ankara as well, where the meeting between Rumen Radev and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan took place.
Based on everything that has been said and written on the subject, one old saying comes to mind: “If something seems too good to be true, it usually is.”
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