Media: Putin says gas price will be acceptable for Serbia

Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP

Belgrade media reported on Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic that a solution would be found to the price of natural gas which will be acceptable for Serbia.

“I know that some issues are especially worrying for you, in connection to the expiration of the contract to purchase gas. I think we will reach an agreement and will order the appropriate subjects to finish the job. In any case, we will find a solution which will certainly be acceptable for our Russian friends,” Putin is quoted as saying in the media reports.

He is also quoted as wishing Vucic luck at the elections next April.

The two presidents are meeting for the 19th time at one of the Russian president’s residences in the coastal city of Sochi. Their talks are reported to cover the situation in the Western Balkans, joint projects, economic cooperation and the price of natural gas.

Vucic wrote in an Instagram post that “every meeting the president of the Russian Federation is of exceptional significance for our country”.

The Serbian President told Serbian pro-government media in Sochi on Wednesday evening that the price of gas will top the agenda.

According to Belgrade media, the contract between Srbijagas and the Russian Gazprom expires later this year. Under that contract, Serbia is paying 270 Dollars for 1,000 cubic meters of natural gas at a time when the market price is 1,000 Dollars.