DISINFO: The United States is stopping Balkan Stream because of the political instability in Bulgaria
SUMMARY
The current political instability in Bulgaria is the reason for the sanctions imposed by the US towards all companies involved in the construction of “Balkan Stream”.
RESPONSE
The sanctions that were declared on 15 July that the US will impose will be directed towards not only Turk Stream (referred by Michael Pompeo as “Balkan Stream”), but also Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines. The primary reason for the sanctions by the US is not related to the current political situation in Bulgaria. Rather, the US government views the current energy projects as beneficial only to Russia and the gas pipelines as one of Kremlin's main tools for exploiting and expanding Europe's dependence on Russian energy. Furthermore, as of the release of the article, there are no officially declared Bulgarian companies that are expected to be sanctioned due to the construction of the gas pipeline.