Category
Latest news

Serbia Seeks Russian Gas Deal With Gazprom, Claims “Best Price in Europe”

2 min read
Authors
Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko
Dariia Mykhailenko
Author
Serbia Seeks Russian Gas Deal With Gazprom, Claims “Best Price in Europe”
Signage for Gazprom PJSC at a gas station operated by Naftna Industrija Srbije AD, in Novi Sad, Serbia, on August 29, 2022. (Source: Getty Images)

Serbia is working on a new gas deal with Russia and expects to secure the best price in Europe, said the head of Serbia’s state gas company Dušan Bajatović in an interview with Reuters on June 18.

Bajatović, who leads Srbijagas, stated that both Serbia and the broader European continent would eventually have no alternative but to return to Russian gas in order to meet their energy demands at a reasonable cost.

Serbia remains one of the last European buyers of Russian gas, importing approximately 3 billion cubic meters last year. According to Reuters, this development coincides with Serbia’s ongoing bid to join the European Union, which this week proposed a legally binding ban on imports of Russian natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) by the end of 2027.

Bajatović said the new contract with Gazprom is expected to begin in September and may last either three or ten years.

“The issue of price is more or less resolved. It will be very good, it will be the best price in Europe,” he told Reuters, without disclosing further details due to ongoing commercial negotiations.

Commenting on the broader energy landscape, Bajatović argued that the global gas market would ultimately be shaped by Russia and the United States as leading producers, and China as a major consumer.

“It is mathematics. You cannot solve the equation of gas supplies to Europe at acceptable prices without the Russian gas,” he said, speaking on the sidelines of Russia’s main economic forum in St. Petersburg—an event largely boycotted by Western CEOs due to the war in Ukraine.

He also voiced support for the idea of US investors purchasing the Nord Stream gas pipeline, which has remained inoperative since the explosions in 2022.

Earlier, France and Belgium, the two largest importers of Russian LNG in Europe, declined to support the European Commission’s proposed ban on Russian gas imports, citing the need for greater clarity on the legal and economic implications before making a final decision.

See all