site.btaSerbian President Vucic Comments on Natural Gas Supplies

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said stopping Russian natural gas supplies is not an easy matter as gas imports from the Caspian Sea are insufficient, Serbian media report. He was answering a question following reports that Bulgaria might stop importing Russian gas.

Serbia says it wants Russian gas from TurkStream and pays transit fees. What the Bulgarians want is their own business. Serbia will talk with gas giant Gazprom about a new contract for Russian natural gas.

The director of Serbia's state-owned natural gas provider Srbijagas, Dusan Bajatovic, thinks it is out of the question for Bulgaria to stop gas supplies from Russia, Belgrade's Vecernje Novosti writes. Statements by Bulgarian officials that the purchase contract for Russian natural gas may not be extended are delusional because only Russia can feed gas into the pipeline, Bajatovic commented. Bulgaria cannot stop buying Russian gas as it will be left without any. Those are political statements, resulting from pressure on Bulgaria and then on Serbia and Hungary, Bajatovic said.

Currently, Serbia draws natural gas from two directions: 50-60 per cent via the Balkan Stream pipeline (the extension of TurkStream) through Bulgaria, and via Hungary. Russian gas is being delivered to the European countries via Ukraine non-stop, Bajatovic commented.

Serbian experts do not believe either that natural gas deliveries via Balkan Stream will be stopped, because Bulgaria would face grave long-lasting consequences, the Vecernje Novosti noted. According to Serbian economists and energy experts, Bulgaria does not have alternative sources of natural gas supply and probably won't turn off its only tap. They also note Sofia has failed to secure an alternative gas supply route for at least seven years. Still, the experts say that if deliveries stopped, Serbia would have a problem because it can only get natural gas through Ukraine and Hungary, as well as via Balkan Stream through Bulgaria.