Bulgaria and Russia have already agreed the price of natural gas under the new direct gas supply contract which is to take effect on January 1, 2013, according to Gazprom Spokesperson Sergey Kupriyanov and Leonid Chugunov, Head of Gazprom Project Management Department.

Kupriyanov and Chugunov, as cited by Standard daily, declared in Moscow that Russian energy giant Gazprom and Bulgaria's state-owned gas supplier Bulgargaz had reached an agreement on the new price of Russian gas for Bulgaria but they refused to specify the tariff.

On Thursday, Delyan Dobrev, Minister of Economy, Energy, and Tourism, voiced certainty that Bulgaria would win better terms under the next gas supply contract than the 11% discount applicable in the period April 1 – end-December 2012, Novinite.com reports.