Poland, Bulgaria denounce Russian gas 'blackmail'
ABC News
Polish and Bulgarian leaders have accused Russia of using gas supplies to blackmail their countries
WARSAW, Poland -- Polish and Bulgarian leaders accused Moscow of using natural gas to blackmail their countries after Russia's state-controlled energy company abruptly announced it would stop supplying the two European nations Wednesday.
The gas cutoff came after Russian President Vladimir Putin said that “unfriendly” countries would need to start paying for gas in rubles, Russia's currency, which Bulgaria and Poland refused to do.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told Poland's parliament on Wednesday that he believed the action was revenge for new sanctions against Russia that Warsaw imposed over the war in Ukraine.
Morawiecki vowed that Poland would not be cowed by the cutoff. He said the country was safe from an energy crisis thanks to years of efforts to secure gas from other countries.
