When the United States stops exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the next few years due to its own increased needs, Western countries will line up to Moscow for Russian gas, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic told Serbian reporters on the sidelines of the leaders' summit at the UN climate conference (COP-29) in Baku.
"Nobody can tell me how and what we will do with electricity, because in 3-4 years America will no longer be able to export LNG. It will use it for the growing consumption of artificial intelligence, electric charging stations and everything else. So, what will we do then? We will all stand in line, and all those who banned Russian gas will stand in line in front of Moscow to ask: "Give us gas back so that we can survive the winter," Vucic said.
"After [Donald] Trump's victory [in the US presidential election], oil prices fell a little, <...> but the price of gas has skyrocketed. As I said, [it is] $485 per 1,000 cubic meters, and for us this price is about $325," the Serbian leader said.
Earlier, Srbijagas General Director Dusan Bajatovic said that Europe does not have enough energy resources and in case of a cold winter the heating season will be disrupted without gas supplies from Russia.
On September 4, at a meeting with Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow and Belgrade need to resolve the issue of the expiring gas supply agreement. Vulin later said that he "cannot imagine" a situation in which Serbia would survive the current winter without Russian gas.
As Bajatovic noted later, Belgrade will start substantive talks with the Russian side on extending the expiring contract on gas supplies to the Balkan republic in the first quarter of 2025.
MNA/