SOFIA, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev told the parliament on Monday the state-owned gas monopoly Bulgargaz would not hesitate to seek compensation for its losses from the Russian gas cutoff.

    Stanishev assured members of parliament that a thorough calculation of the losses would be carried out as soon as the Russia-Ukraine gas row was resolved, the local media reported on Tuesday.

    The parliament drafted a resolution providing for the setting up of a special group at the Council of Ministers which would evaluate the losses incurred from the crisis.

    Stanishev said that a number of Bulgarian firms too had failed to fulfill the requirement to have fuel reserves for at least 15 days, for which they would be sanctioned.

    He said the government was also considering demanding the signing of direct contracts with Gazprom, without intermediaries.

    Bulgargaz currently has no contracts with Gazprom. It only has contracts with three of its subsidiaries - Overgaz Inc, Wintershau, and Gazpromexport.

    Russian natural gas supplies cover about 90 percent of Bulgaria's needs. From Jan. 6 the supply to Bulgaria was cut off as Russia shut off all gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine.