“The Secretary reaffirmed the importance of expeditious EU accession for qualified aspirants,” it is said in the press-release issued by the US State Department regarding Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s meeting with Bulgarian PM Kiril Petkov. The situation in Ukraine and Bulgaria’s defence modernisation were among the other topics. After the meeting, Petkov didn’t give a statement about the details. The information that he agreed also on shipment of liquefied gas at prices lower than Gazprom’s has resulted in accusations by some opposition members that there is in the background a deal for Skopje to receive a green light for a start of membership negotiations with the EU.