Belgrade would go bankrupt if not for the “fantastic price” of Russian gas, President Aleksandar Vucic has said
Serbs would not have to save energy and reduce their consumption this winter thanks to Belgrade’s policies 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 that, but added, “The situation in the energy sector remains…” “extremely difficult.”The Serbian Cabinet is also expected to offer a variety of services. “large discounts”He spoke to all those who had saved electricity in this year’s comparison to previous years.
The Serbian leader claims that such steps are possible due to Russia’s natural gas imports. Serbia purchases 2 million cubic meters of gas – or between 63% and 64% of all gas it needs – from Russia and its total cost amounts to €800 million ($797 million), Vucic said, calling such a price “fantastic.”
If Belgrade had to buy gas at the current European market prices, it would go bankrupt, he said, arguing that the remaining 1.2 million cubic meters of gas – or around 36% of its total consumption – would cost Serbia €4.8 billion ($4.7 billion) now. “And our entire budget is around €13 billion,”According to the president
Vucic also highlighted a Belgrade deal with Budapest which would allow Hungary to store 300-500 cubic meters of gas that Serbia purchased in its gas storages. The Serbian president’ comments come as the European gas prices continue to soar. According to London ICE data, September futures at the TTF hub in The Netherlands rose by nearly $3,500 to almost $3,000 per 1,000 cubic meters Friday.
The EU is currently trying to resolve its energy crisis, sparked particularly by the bloc’s decision to rid itself of the Russian gas supplies amid the conflict in Ukraine. To ease the pressure on gas prices, the EU has urged all its member countries to cut their gas consumption by 15%.
Vucic declared in mid-June that he had agreed to a favorable price on Russian natural gas imports as part of a new energy agreement with Moscow. He stated that Serbia would buy Russian natural gas for between $360 and $410 per 1000 cubic meters.
President Trump stated that Serbia continues to suffer significant losses as a result of EU sanctions on Russia. This was especially true for oil. Although Serbia is not part of the European Union, the country’s energy supplies transit through EU countries, meaning that any EU sanctions on Russia affect Serbia as well.
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