Serbian prime minister Aleksandar Vucic has agreed with Russian president
Vladimir Putin a model for the settlement of the Southeast European country's
gas supply debts towards Russia, the government in Belgrade said.
Vucic
and Putin have agreed on cooperation in all matters related to the delivery of
Russian gas to Serbia, on the debt settlement model and on favorable gas supply
for three large Serbian chemical plants, the government said in a statement on
Wednesday after Vucic talked with Putin over the phone.
The two sides
have agreed to maintain regular contacts so that all relevant issues of common
interest could be resolved in a cooperative and friendly manner, the statement
said.
Gazprom Export delivered 1.14 billion cubic metres of gas to Serbia
in 2013 as part of a 10-year supply agreement. The Balkan state has just one gas
supply route, coming via Ukraine and Hungary.
In October, news agency
Tanjug quoted Serbian energy minister Aleksandar Antic as saying that Serbia's
unpaid bills for Russian gas total $224 million (179.2 million euro).
On
Tuesday, local media quoted Vucic as saying that Serbia can settle 100 million
euro of its total debt to Russia but that paying 200 million euro in one tranche
or by March would be a problem and would impact public debt and fiscal deficit
levels, which the government wants to keep under control in 2015.