By cutting off gas supplies to Bulgaria, Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to "demonstrate that he could destabilize a European government that has declared a policy of zero tolerance for corruption," Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov wrote in an article for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. According to him, Russia had previously used corruption as a favorite tool to influence the state policy in Bulgaria. Hoping for a new, pro-Russian government, the Kremlin aimed at regaining Russian influence in Bulgaria, he wrote.

The Bulgarian PM pointed out that the current government changed the country's dependence on Russian gas from 95% to 0% by signing a contract for the supply of American liquefied natural gas and renegotiating the terms for deliveries from Azerbaijan.

"We are experiencing a crisis that requires bold and smart solutions. In our case, this means a complete abandonment of Russian gas as soon as possible," the Bulgarian prime minister wrote, calling on the EC to find a long-lasting solution to the problem.