Serbian leaders agreed with a Russian delegation that a major energy deal could be concluded within the next few months, both sides said after talks Monday.
Russian Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu said the two sides "will complete negotiations on all techincal issues in 60 days."
"I hope that, as soon as the next day, we will begin to realize an energy deal," Shoigu told reporters in the southern town of Nis, after meeting Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic and other top officials in the capital Belgrade.
"The oil-gas deal is the biggest Russian investment in the Balkans," a Serbian government statement earlier quoted Shoigu as saying.
The contracts call for Russian gas giant OAO Gazprom (GAZ.RS) to construct a gas pipeline and storage facility in Serbia, as well as buy a majority stake in Serbia's oil monopoly NIS.
"Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic gave the Russian side assurances that our country will fully respect everything anticipated by the signed deal," the statement said.
The meeting in Belgrade was also attended by deputy prime ministers for interior affairs and the economy, Ivica Dacic and Mladjan Dinkic, respectively, as well as Energy Minister Petar Skundric.
Earlier this month, Serbia's parliament voted overwhelmingly in support of the Russian energy deal despite reservations by some critics, including Dinkic, about the price of NIS.
As part of the energy deal, which would include Serbia in the South Stream gas pipeline project, Gazprom offered to pay EUR400 million for 51% of NIS and to invest EUR500 million in the company.
A consulting company has since estimated that NIS alone is worth EUR2.2 billion and Dinkic has called for new price negotiations with the Russian side.
However, Shoigu indicated there would be no changes in the deal.
"A change in part of the deal would amount to changing the entire agreement," he said.
"I confirm once again that the deal on NIS is an integral part of the entire agreement," the Russian official said.
Shoigu later traveled to the southern city of Nis to visit a Russian team working to remove land mines left over from the 1999 Kosovo conflict. He said the team would also remove mines along the future pipeline in Serbia.