Pipe task: Republika Srpska is ready to involve Russian companies in the creation of a gas pipeline

Republika Srpska is open to the participation of Russian business in the construction of a new pipeline from Serbia, RS President Sinisa Karan told Izvestia. The route will allow the entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina to increase gas supplies and increase the level of its gasification. Experts consider Russia's direct participation in financing the project unlikely due to the risks of EU sanctions. Brussels previously announced plans to abandon energy imports from Russia in 2027. Therefore, Moscow is now extending the contract with its partners in the region for a short period of time. However, they will not be able to completely replace Russian gas in the Balkans in the short term.

Russia's participation in the construction of a gas pipeline in the Balkans

Republika Srpska previously received Russian gas through Ukraine, Hungary and Serbia. Since 2021, after the commissioning of the Balkan Stream, a continuation of the Turkish Stream— supplies are carried out only through Turkey and the Balkans, bypassing Ukraine. By the way, since the beginning of 2025, Kiev has stopped gas transit through its territory, and then repeatedly tried to attack the Turkish Stream. Another attempt to blow up the pipeline was stopped by the Serbian authorities in April.

At the same time, the companies of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia signed an agreement on the construction of a new gas pipeline with a length of about 500 km. It will allow Republika Srpska (the entity of BiH) to receive more gas through the Turkish Stream. Banja Luka has a positive attitude towards the participation of companies from Russia, President of Republika Srpska Sinisa Karan told Izvestia.

— When it comes to the participation of Russian companies, we are, of course, open to this, but at the moment we do not envisage their direct participation in the implementation of this project. Nevertheless, I repeat, we are open to such cooperation," the politician stressed.

The new gas pipeline should pass through all municipalities of the RS, which will allow the entity to increase the level of gasification. Construction is expected to begin in June. In 2023, Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation Alexander Novak noted that Republika Srpska receives about 30-40 million cubic meters of Russian gas per year. The new supply route will increase the volume of pumping, in the future it may reach 1-1.5 billion cubic meters, Novak said at the time.

The gas pipeline project has been blocked for many years by the Muslim-Croatian entity Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Sarajevo is promoting its Southern Interconnection project to receive gas from Croatia. In January, it became known that the construction of the Southern Interconnection is scheduled to begin in 2026. Thus, the parties actually mutually refused to veto each other's projects.

Russia is interested in building a pipeline to increase its gas exports. However, it is not profitable to build a new route at the Russian expense, as the EU is preparing to ban gas imports from Russia next year. In this scenario, Bulgaria will not allow Russian "blue fuel" to Serbia, and Moscow will lose its investments, Igor Yushkov, a leading analyst at the National Energy Security Fund and an expert at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, told Izvestia.

"The pipeline capacity of the Turkish Stream is limited, it is already operating at the limit of its capabilities, so if we increase supplies to Republika Srpska, the volume of supplies to other countries will decrease," the expert noted.

According to Oleg Bondarenko, director of the Progressive Policy Foundation and a political scientist, theoretically, companies that built the Turkish Stream and its branch in the Balkans could be involved in the construction of the gas pipeline in Republika Srpska. In particular, the Pipe Metallurgical Company produced pipes for him.

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Prospects of RS and Serbia's contracts with Gazprom

Russia's participation will also depend on whether it is possible to conclude long-term gas supply contracts. Serbia and the Russian Federation are now consistently extending their contractual relations for three months. At the same time, Belgrade continues to buy resources at the old price of $320, although they are much more expensive on the market.

The difficulties are related to the EU's plans to ban Russian gas imports from 2027, which would jeopardize any long-term contract. In addition, the issue of US sanctions against the NIS energy company (Oil Industry of Serbia) has not been resolved. In January 2025, the US Treasury Department included the Serbian company in the sanctions list along with its majority shareholder Gazprom Neft. Belgrade is trying to negotiate the sale of the Russian stake to the Hungarian concern MOL.

Moscow is complying with all previous commitments on gas supplies to Serbia, Russian Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov said. According to him, the parties continue the dialogue. It is difficult to replace all Russian gas in the region: the volume of supplies from Azerbaijan is limited, and the purchase of LNG will be extremely expensive for the Balkan countries.

He hopes for a long-term contract with the Russian Federation and Republika Srpska, Izvestia wrote earlier. Her previous contract with Gazprom was valid until 2025. The republic's authorities may discuss this issue at the SPIEF in June. In particular, the leader of the ruling Union of Independent Social Democrats party, ex-President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik, plans to attend the event, the RS representative office in Moscow told Izvestia.

Republika Srpska is also ready to support the launch of direct flights with Russia, RS President Sinisha Karan told Izvestia. However, there are no specific initiatives at the moment.

—The opening of a direct airline would certainly be a significant step in bringing our peoples closer together, strengthening economic cooperation and the tourism sector as a whole," said the head of the BiH Serbian entity.

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Will Belgrade maintain good relations with Moscow amid Western pressure and the upcoming elections

The Republika Srpska delegation met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 9. Moscow consistently supports the RS and strengthens ties with it. In particular, in June 2024, a branch of the Russian Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina was opened in the city of Banja Luka. Due to the position of the Serbian entity, BiH did not impose sanctions against the Russian Federation and maintained a visa-free regime for our citizens.

Russia also insists on abolishing the post of high representative of the international community in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Outgoing representative Christian Schmidt noted the pressure on the RS and the criminal prosecution of its leader Milorad Dodik. Banja Luka is important for Moscow not only as a historical ally, but also as a profitable economic partner, so the Russian Federation will continue to support it.