Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said he had agreed with Russian President Vladimir Putin a favourable deal on natural gas imports from Russia and that the price would continue to be based on a 100 pct crude oil formula.
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"Putin and I had a very good conversation. We talked about several different topics. The most important one for us are our bilateral relations, and we touched upon several things. For us, the most important thing is the May 31 expiry of a gas agreement that has been in place for 10 years. What I can say is that we agreed the main elements, which are very favourable for Serbia," Vucic explained, adding that a crude oil formula-based price Serbia had been paying for Russian gas was definitely the lowest price in Europe.
"We agreed to sign the agreement, the first element, for three years, rather than for a month, as some have been saying. That suits the Serbian side extremely well," Vucic said.
The formula remains the same and the price will be very favourable, he said.
Vucic said he had already written to Gazprom executives to arrange discussions about the quantities of gas to be supplied.
"If we implement everything from the agreement with Putin, we will have a safe winter in terms of gas, and after discussions with Gazprom about quantities, we will be able to say exactly how much a cubic metre will cost us on average. At this time, it would cost three times less and, in the winter, as many as 10 to 12 times less than what the rest of Europe will be paying," Vucic said, thanking the Russian partners for their fairness.
He said he had also told Putin Serbia would like to see peace restored in Ukraine as soon as possible and that the Russian president had presented information from his angle of view.
"He said an agreement had been offered and was on the table in Moscow, Kiev and other centres of power. I heard certain elements, but it is not something we can deal with. I hope peace will be established. As far everything else is concerned, I can say it was a very good and fair conversation," Vucic said.
He noted that they had also discussed further construction of gas storage capacities in Serbia. ■