Gazprom is discussing the terms of a new contract for the supply of Russian gas to Serbia and the issued directives, the Russian state news agency quoted Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak as saying.
"This issue was also discussed at a meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, at the presidential level, and appropriate directives were issued. Gazprom is handling this issue," he said.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic raised the issue of a new gas deal with Russia during a meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on May 9.
At that time, Serbian President Vucic emphasized that Russian energy supply is of special importance to Belgrade and expressed hope that the deliveries would continue under favorable terms.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic visited Russia on May 8 and 9 to attend the parade to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the victory over Germany.
At that time, Russian President Vladimir Putin called energy cooperation "a driving force for trade and investment relations" between Moscow and Belgrade. Mr. Putin also affirmed that Russian energy giant Gazprom is supplying more gas than the contracted volume with Serbia.
Serbia has a close relationship with Russia and wishes to join the European Union. Serbia is heavily dependent on Russia for gas and is looking to extend the gas supply deal after the old contract expired in March.
Russian gas has been supplied to Serbia via the TurkStream pipeline in the Black Sea since 2021. Russia supplied about 3 billion cubic meters of gas to Serbia last year.
According to vedomosti, CEO of Serbia's state gas company Srbijagas, Dusan Bajatovic, told Belgrade-based TV Prva over the weekend that a new Serbia-Russia gas deal would be signed on May 31. He is expected to go to Moscow this week to discuss the deal.
Discussions between Russia and Serbia on gas came as the EU plans to completely eliminate Russian gas imports by the end of 2027.
On May 19, a senior Serbian lawmaker said that the country will continue to cooperate strategically with Russia despite the increasing pressure from the EU on sanctions against Russia.
"We continue to cooperate strategically with Russia, with our close friends, despite the pressure we are under," said Milovan Drecun, Chairman of the Serbian National Assembly Security Committee and head of the Serbian National Assembly delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).
