Serbia is being forced to partially abandon Russian gas
Dubravka Djedovic-Handanovic, Minister of Mining and Energy of Serbia, is preparing to announce the liberalization of the country's gas market in the coming days, thereby depriving Gazprom of the status of the main gas supplier to the republic. This was reported to Izvestia by a source in the Serbian government.
"Energy Minister Dubravka Djedovic-Handanovic, who holds French citizenship and studied at the University of California, is preparing to make a decision on liberalizing Serbia's gas market in the coming days. Therefore, in the future any company will be able to sell gas to Serbia, Gazprom will lose its status as an exclusive supplier," a Serbian government source told Izvestia.
Earlier, Dusan Bayatovich, director of Serbiyagaz, announced that a contract for gas supplies from Russia is expected to be signed in September. Its validity period will be at least three years. In May, Moscow and Belgrade extended the agreement on the import of Russian gas to Serbia until September 30.
However, in the event of a decision to liberalize the gas market, the future contract between Serbia and the Russian Federation will be in jeopardy, the government source emphasizes.
In 2012, Serbia and Russia signed a 10-year agreement on natural gas supplies of up to 5 billion cubic meters. m per year. In 2021, Belgrade and Moscow extended it for six months, and then signed a three-year contract until 2025. At the same time, Serbia received a significant discount by buying gas at a price of $270 per 1,000 cubic meters — "practically free," as President Alexander Vucic said in 2022. Belgrade is currently receiving 6 million cubic meters. m per day at a price of €290 per 1 thousand cubic meters.
Read more in the exclusive Izvestia article:
Gas situation: Serbia intends to deprive Russia of the status of the main fuel supplier
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