Russia ready for additional gas supply for Serbia: Envoy

By Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - Russia is ready for talks on additional quantities of gas for Serbia, according to Ambassador Aleksandar Bocan-Kharchenko on Thursday.

Bocan-Kharchenko told the local Tanjug media that Russia's Gazprom is open to talks if Serbia needs additional quantities of Russian gas during the winter.

"The original price, which concerns the previous basic quantities, remains the lowest that can now be determined in Europe. This is a very important thing and my message is that whenever we talk about energy and gas, we do not forget that we have a basic contract with a very low and favorable price," said Kharchenko.

Serbia is the only country in Europe that has not imposed sanctions against Russia.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Wednesday hosted Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in the capital Belgrade, where the duo discussed opportunities for cooperation in the fields of natural gas and electricity.

Previously, Vucic expressed a desire to discuss Serbia's connection to the Trans Adriatic Pipeline or Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline.

Serbia is working on new oil storage facilities and plans to construct a new oil pipeline to Hungary to tackle the global energy crisis.

Early October, he said Serbia has warehouses filled with close to 380 million cubic meters of gas in Hungary.

The new pipeline to Hungary will have a length of up to 128 kilometers (80 miles) that can cost up to €100 million ($97 million).

Serbia currently has the lowest price for electricity in the region and a deal could keep rates steady and prevent an increase in prices.

The price for Serbian households is $0.086 per kilowatt hour, while in Bosnia Herzegovina it is $0.087.

It is up to $0.097 in Albania, $0.105 in Montenegro, $0.148 in Croatia, and $0.545 in Rome, according to Vucic.