Serbia comments on gas supply to Russia — RT World News
Belgrade would go bankrupt without the ‘fantastic price’ of Russian gas, President Aleksandar Vucic says
Serbs won’t have to save energy and reduce their consumption this winter thanks to Belgrade’s policy and gas imports from Russia, President Aleksandar Vucic told his fellow citizens in an address on Saturday.
« There are no plans for electricity restrictions next winter », he said, adding however that the situation in the field of energy remains « extremely difficult. » At the same time, the Serbian cabinet should provide « big discounts » to those who saved electricity this year compared to the previous one, he said.
Such measures have become possible in particular thanks to gas imports from Russia, believes the Serbian leader. Serbia buys 2 million cubic meters of gas – or between 63% and 64% of all the gas it needs – from Russia and its total cost is 800 million euros ($797 million), said Vucic, calling such an award « fantastic. »
If Belgrade were to buy gas at current European market prices, it would go bankrupt, he said, saying the remaining 1.2 million cubic meters of gas – around 36% of its total consumption – would cost the Serbia 4.8 billion euros ($4.7 billion). ) now. “And our total budget is around 13 billion euros,” said the president.
Vucic also welcomed a deal Belgrade has reached with Budapest that would see Hungary store between 300 and 500 cubic meters of gas purchased by Serbia in its gas storages. The Serbian president’s comments come as gas prices in Europe continue to soar. September futures on the TTF hub in the Netherlands hit nearly $3,500 per thousand cubic meters on Friday, according to data from London’s ICE exchange.
The EU is currently trying to resolve its energy crisis, triggered in particular by the bloc’s decision to rid itself of Russian gas supplies in the context of the conflict in Ukraine. The EU has called on all member states to reduce their gas consumption by 15% to ease the burden of soaring gas prices.
In mid-June, Vucic announced that he had agreed a favorable price for Russian natural gas imports under a new energy deal with Moscow. Serbia was to buy Russian gas at a price between $360 and $410 per 1,000 cubic meters, he said at the time.
According to the President, Serbia has again suffered significant losses due to EU sanctions against Russia, especially on oil. Although Serbia is not part of the European Union, the country’s energy supplies transit through EU countries, which means that any EU sanctions against Russia also affect Serbia.
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