“The storm has mostly passed, but there are still risks”, Deputy Premier Tomislav Donchev told bTV regarding Lukoil. ''The first priority is to avoid a crisis with fuel supplies and fuel prices in the country. Secondly, the refinery must continue operating. A very important priority is to organize things in such a way that Bulgaria does not at some point end up facing lawsuits”, Deputy Premier Donchev explained.

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Tomislav Donchev said that the appointment of Rumen Spetsov as special commercial administrator of the refinery is the most logical choice. “Spetsov will not be dealing with the production of diesel and gasoline. His role is to exercise financial oversight and to ensure that there are guarantees that the U.S.-imposed sanctions will not be violated”, Tomislav Donchev said. Bulgaria’s Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that the government has,to a large extent, overcome the crisis, but how it will ultimately be resolved depends both on Washington and on the owners of the refinery.

Edited by Ivo Ivanov

Published and translated by Kostadin Atanasov

Photo: BTA-archive