President Vucic: Serbia saved € 1 billion through an agreement with Russia on gas supplies
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that the country will be able to save about a billion euros at the expense of the favorable gas price set by Russia during the negotiations, which took place on 25 November. He spoke about this on the air of the Hit Tvit program on the Pink TV channel, TASS reports.
Vucic noted that he had reached an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin on an oil formula that did not always look as attractive as it does today. He explained that, according to the agreement, with an oil price of $ 82-83 per barrel, Serbia will be able to pay about $ 270-275 per thousand cubic meters of gas. At the same time, the President stressed that the country's authorities will continue to work on this issue. Serbia will continue to have the lowest gas price in Europe, excluding the CIS countries, the president said. He added that the savings for the citizens of the country will not amount to 300 million, but at least a billion euros, including all foreign exchange transactions, and also called this issue strategic for the country.
Do you at least understand that prices range from 650 to 1 200 euros for 1 thousand cubic meters, and we pay 270?
Alexander VucicPresident of Serbia
In addition, the Serbian leader once again expressed his endless gratitude to Putin for respecting the interests of Belgrade and providing the country with such a price for the next six months. He noted that it would be difficult for the head of Russia to set a similar price for a longer period, since other gas buyers could be outraged. So, according to him, now Germany is fighting for the opportunity to buy gas at $ 500, the President of Serbia explained.
Squeezing out Russia
Vucic also said that Russia is being squeezed out of the natural gas market, including the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. According to him, at the moment Europe lacks 70 billion cubic meters of gas, while 55 billion is provided for passing through the “Nord Stream-2”. However, European countries are not launching the pipeline due to pressure from the United States, Vucic said. “The Russians have a problem they don't want to talk about. Namely, they are trying to squeeze them out politically, although there is no gas in Europe, “the president explained.
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At the same time, the Serbian leader noted that the country during the crisis was helped by the completion of the fuel from the “Turkish Stream”. He stressed that now Belgrade has where to get gas from.
Serbia promises its eternal friendship to Russia, Vucic said. “Serbia is on the European path, this is important for us, but Serbia has kept its friends all this time. We never turned our backs on our friends. Neither when it was hard for them, nor when it was hard for us to withstand the pressure, “the Serbian leader emphasized.
Vucic added that it is for this reason that Serbia today receives the lowest gas price in Europe and can count on support on the issue of Kosovo and Metohija. The head of state also expressed confidence that Russia and China will not renounce friendship between the countries.
The decisive moment
On November 25, Vucic held talks in Sochi with Russian President Vladimir Putin. It was reported that the topics of partnership in the political, trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian spheres were to be discussed.
The heads of state were to exchange views on the fight against coronavirus, the situation in the Balkans, including the settlement in Kosovo, and the problem of gas purchases. Another planned topic of negotiations was the supply of the Russian vaccine against COVID-19 Sputnik Light, which has been under discussion since February 2021. Currently, the registration procedure for the drug in Serbia is underway.