BELGRADE (Serbia), September 9 (SeeNews) – Russia’s Gazprom on Tuesday welcomed the ratification by the Serbian parliament of a key energy agreement with Russia but Serbian economy minister Mladjan Dinkic said he would aim to negotiate a higher price for Serbia's oil monopoly NIS.
Under the deal, signed in January, Belgrade sold 51% of Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS) to Gazprom for 900 million euro ($1.3 billion) in cash and investment. The deal also calls for Serbia’s inclusion into the multi-billion euro South Stream gas pipeline, a joint project of Gazprom and Italian oil and gas company Eni.
“This contract is a huge step towards the implementation of one of our biggest infrastructure projects,” Gazprom's Deputy management Board Director and director general of Gazprom Export Aleksandar Medvedev said in a statement.
The deal was ratified in a 214-22 vote with one abstention in the 250-seat Serbian parliament earlier on Tuesday. Thirteen deputies were absent from the vote.
“The strengthened cooperation between Serbia and Russia will improve the safety of gas distribution to Europe and will raise the flexibility of the transport streams, particularly through South Stream.”
He added that the agreement will turn Serbia into a significant energy hub and a key transit country, boosting its overall economy.
Serbian analysts, however, say Serbia should try to negotiate a higher price for NIS than the one agreed with Russia, adding Serbia’s political weakness and its need for support on its breakaway province of Kosovo were factors in the deal making and as a result too low a price for NIS had been agreed. Serbia's historical ally Russia has vehemently opposed Kosovo’s independence, before and after it was declared in February. Officially Serbia says it will never recognize Kosovo as an independent state.
According to an evaluation made by Deloitte the current market price of NIS is 2.2 billion euro.
Serbia’s Economy and Regional Development Minister Mladjan Dinkic said on Tuesday that Deloitte’s evaluation is fair and that he will use it to bargain for a higher selling price.
“If we were to sell NIS [for 900 million euro] that would be like giving it away as a gift to Russia. And I don’t see why poor Serbia should give any gifts to rich Russia,” he said.
Although Deloitte’s evaluation explicitly says that the 2.2 billion euro figure should not be used as a bargaining chip in any negotiations, Dinkic said he will defend Serbia’s interests with all resources at his disposal.
"I don't believe it's in the interest of Gazprom to be working in an environment that is hostile towards it. It is in the interest of everyone concerned to reach an agreement both sides will be happy with," Dinkic said.
($=0.7065 euro)
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