In Bulgaria, Russia could be stripped off control of port

The Bulgarian parliament proposed to terminate the concession of Russia’s Lukoil in the Rosenets port, near Burgas. co-chairman of the We Continue the Change party, former prime minister Kiril Petkov said.

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"We are proposing that Lukoil's concession in the Rosenets port be terminated," he was quoted as saying by local news media Radio Bulgaria.

"There have always been doubts about the control over this port. And our goal is to join the Schengen area, and this is a big and clear step in that direction. The transport ministry has stated that it can manage the port. Thus, there will be revenues that will go to the treasury".

Atanas Atanasov, a Bulgarian MP who co-chairs the Democratic Bulgaria party, said that with the initiative, "we are taking steps to limit Moscow's ability to use Bulgarian infrastructure for financial purposes".

"Russia has declared Bulgaria an enemy country because of the war it is waging in Ukraine," he said.

Located on the southern shore of the Burgas Bay, the Rosenets port terminal is designed to receive, store, and transport petrochemical raw materials and commercial products.

In May 2011, Bulgaria and Lukoil signed a concession agreement for a part of the Rosenets port terminal, and in 2022, the interim Bulgarian government extended the concession for 24 years.

In case the concession is terminated, Lukoil will be able to continue using the terminal, but not as a concessionaire.

Earlier this year, it became known Bulgaria wants to sell Ukraine VVER-1000 nuclear reactors from the unfinished Belene nuclear power plant.