Intense concern is expressed in Serbia on the possibility of affecting the smooth inflow into the country of gas and oil due to the sanctions imposed by the EU against Russia and Moscow’s decisions on payment in rubles.
Republic President Aleksandar Vuτςiτς did not hide his concern, given that fossil fuels from Russia arrive through pipelines that cross EU countries.
“We receive Russian oil from the pipeline through Croatia, we must resolve all the problems that will arise with the Europeans,” Vuτςiτς said, adding that developments in Ukraine and a possible expansion of hostilities in Odessa would create additional problems in the future. . The President of Serbia stated that due to the uncertainty in the supply of Russian oil, negotiations have started with countries in the Middle East.
“I’m already talking to our partners in the Middle East to get oil from them. At the same time, we are looking for a way to get to Serbia. “I think the best is through Durres in Albania and then by tanker in Serbia,” Vucic said. Serbia has not imposed sanctions on Russia and is therefore not among the countries that Moscow considers “unfriendly”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peshkov Commenting on Belgrade’s concerns, he stressed that “Serbia does not belong to the ‘enemy’ countries and is not required to pay for the oil and gas market in rubles, but stressed that intermediate countries such as Bulgaria could create a problem in Serbia.
Another equally important problem for the Serbian political leadership is the ownership of the largest domestic oil company NIS owned by the Russian Gazprom Neft which is under sanctions.
Serbian press reports say the government is considering a public takeover of Gazprom Neft’s shares. It is also reported that Boris Johnson’s government has recently been pushing for the confiscation of Gazprom’s assets in Serbia and the resale of Serbian oil NIS to the British Shell. Political analysts in Belgrade estimate that all these issues will be of great concern to the Serbian political leadership after the general elections (presidential, parliamentary, municipal) to be held on April 3rd. Belgrade will be called upon to make difficult decisions on relations with Russia that may upset public opinion, and tensions in the domestic political arena are not ruled out.
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