Serbia negotiates new gas deal with Russia, expects lowest price in Europe

Serbia is negotiating a fresh gas supply agreement with Russia and anticipates receiving the most competitive price in Europe, according to Dusan Bajatovic, head of the state-owned gas company Srbijagas, in an interview for Reuters.

Bajatovic stated that, much like Serbia, European countries will eventually have no alternative but to return to purchasing Russian gas if they aim to meet their energy demands affordably. Serbia, which imported about 3 billion cubic meters of Russian gas last year, remains one of the few countries in Europe still buying Russian gas. Meanwhile, Serbia is seeking to join the European Union, which this week proposed a binding ban on Russian gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports by the end of 2027.

According to Bajatovic, the new agreement with Gazprom is expected to take effect in September and may span 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 said, declining to disclose exact figures as negotiations are still ongoing.

Bajatovic emphasized that the global gas market will continue to be driven by producers like Russia and the United States, alongside China as a leading consumer. Europe, he argued, will have to adapt to that reality.

"It is mathematics. You cannot solve the equation of gas supplies to Europe at acceptable prices without the Russian gas," he said during Russia’s flagship economic forum in St. Petersburg, largely boycotted by Western business leaders due to the war in Ukraine.

He also expressed full support for the idea of American investors acquiring the Nord Stream gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea, which was heavily damaged by explosions in 2022 and has remained offline since.

• The European Commission has announced that the EU will completely phase out imports of fossil fuels from Russia by the end of 2027, regardless of how the war in Ukraine evolves.