Bulgaria clinches 15‑month gas freeze with Turkey and pledges higher defence spending at NATO summit

Bulgaria’s delegation, led by Prime Minister Rumen Radev, Foreign Minister Veli Petrova, Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov and Chief of Defence Emil Eftimov, attended the NATO summit in Ankara. In a bilateral meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the two sides agreed to freeze the disputed contract between Turkey’s Botas and Bulgaria’s Bulgargaz for 15 months, relieving Bulgaria of costly capacity payments and shifting to a pay‑per‑use gas model.

At the summit, Bulgaria reaffirmed its commitment to collective defence on NATO’s eastern flank and announced a national plan to raise defence spending to 5 % of GDP by 2035. Stoyanov highlighted the need to develop a modern defence‑industrial base and integrate it into NATO’s supply chain. The agenda also covered Black Sea security, increased defence budgets, and continued support for Ukraine.