Vucic continues to cultivate good relations with Russia, receiving a low gas price in exchange

As Russia’s war in Ukraine enters its fourth month, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who explicitly refused to condemn Russian occupation of Ukraine, and his country did not join Western sanctions against Moscow, following the talks with its counterpart ally, Vladimir Putin, on Sunday said he secured an “extremely favorable” natural gas deal with Russia.

The gas deal is expected to be signed during Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s visit to Belgrade in early June – a rare visit by a senior Russian official to a European country since the start of the Russian occupation of Ukraine on February 24.

Serbia is almost entirely dependent on Russian gas and its major energy companies are owned by the Russian majority.

The Serbian president once again praised the favorable price of Russian gas.

“And what I can say is that we have agreed on the main elements that are very favorable for Serbia. We agreed to sign a three-year contract, which is the first element of the contract, and I think it suits the Serbian side very well. “Another important element is that the formula we use will remain the same (oil formula), so the price will be very favorable for our country,” said Vucic.

He specified that the price of gas for Serbia, according to the agreed formula, will depend on the price of oil, and that even when oil is more expensive, the price of gas paid by Serbia will range from 310 to 408 dollars per thousand meters’ cubic gas.

“If I can say this and if we understand all this from the agreement with Putin, we will have a safe winter for gas supplies,” Vucic said, noting that the price of gas agreed with the Russian president is three times lower – and in winter, he said, will be another ten times lower than other European countries pay.

Apparently, it is now very clear why Serbia did not join the sanctions of the European Union and the United States, as well as why it remained neutral to Russian aggression and closed its eyes to the suffering of civilians and innocent victims in Ukraine. It is more important for its citizens to “provide a warm winter” and a favorable price for gas, and perhaps some other Russian weapons, than to join the sanctions and thus condemn the most hated and unprovoked Russian occupation of Ukrainian.

In a conversation with Putin, Vuicic once again used the geographical space of Serbia, saying that it is a small place to solve the problem of Russia and Ukraine.

He added that he had received approval from Putin that he could do so whenever he felt the need to talk to him.

Following talks between Vucic and Putin, the Kremlin issued a statement saying the two presidents reaffirmed the desire of Russia and Serbia to strengthen the strategic partnership “based on the traditionally close ties between the peoples of the two countries.”

According to a statement from the Kremlin, Vucic and Putin discussed the situation in Ukraine and events related to Kosovo.

“The exchange of views on a number of international topics continued – such as the situation in Ukraine and the development of events around Kosovo,” said the Kremlin.

Serbia, which aims to join the European Union, has recently come under pressure from Western countries to link its foreign policy with the bloc and impose sanctions on Russia.

Despite reports of crimes in Ukraine due to the occupation, Vucic and other Serb leaders are complaining about pressure from the West to join sanctions against Russia. Serbian officials say the Balkan country must resist such pressure, even if it means abandoning its intention to join the EU.

Under Vuicic’s ten-year autocratic rule and relentless pro-Kremlin propaganda, Serbia has gradually moved closer to Russia, and that fact has not changed./The Geopost