Serbia secures new gas deal with Russia

Serbia, which has been attempting a careful balancing act between East and West since Moscow invaded Ukraine, announced Sunday that it has negotiated a new long-term contract with Russia to assure enough gas supplies next winter.

As energy prices soar across the globe, the exact terms of the deal which will ensure Serbia has “a safe winter when it comes to gas supply” — will be announced in the coming days, said President Aleksandar Vucic.

Vucic insisted the contract would give the Balkan country “by far the best terms in Europe”.

“At the moment, this is almost a third of what everyone else in Europe will pay, and in winter it will represent than one tenth” of what other countries pay, he said.

Serbia is currently almost wholly reliant on Russian energy supplies and imports about six million cubic meters of gas daily from Russian giant Gazprom.

Moscow also owns a majority stake in Serbia’s oil and gas company, NIS.

But the deal comes at a time when the European Union is trying to reduce its dependence on Russia for energy following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, and is scheduled to discuss a possible embargo on Russian oil at an emergency summit on Monday.

Vucic also said that he had discussed with Russian President Vladimir Putin the possible expansion of gas storage facilities in Serbia.

While Serbia has criticised Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at the UN, it has declined to participate in UN sanctions against Moscow.