Dačić: Serbia to protect interests in energy deal

Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said today that Serbia needed to protect its interests in negotiations with Russia on the energy agreement. “The government agrees that the deal needs to be implemented and that the right formula needs to be found for Serbia to protect its interest from the possibility of the gas pipeline not being built, for obvious reasons,” Dacic said. Dacic: Serbia to protect interests in energy deal He said that attention should be paid to “new issues and conditions,” to avoid ultimate termination of the agreement “and the loss of a political ally.” “Also, we should be honest and say whether all the issues related to the agreement are connected to protecting Serbia’s interests, or if anyone wants to revise political relations with Russia, or maybe sell NIS to another company,” Dacic said. He said that the meeting with the Russian delegation on Friday, to be attended by Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller, would confirm the readiness of both sides to implement the entire agreement. “For them the ratified agreement and political deal is binding. Gazprom is a state-owned company and they are prepared to be a guarantor for the realization of all three parts of the agreement,” Dacic said. He said that Gazprom and Srbijagas also needed to reach an agreement on distribution in Serbia. “For our people it was a question of middle-men, I put that question in Moscow, and Dusan Bajatovic spoke to Alexei Miller regarding that matter,” he said. “I hope that we will be able to sign the gas distribution agreement soon—we want distribution without a go-between, and if one must exist, it should be clearly stated that this is how Gazprom works in all of Europe,” Dacic told the Beta news agency. Ivica Dacic (FoNet, archive)

Dačić: Serbia to protect interests in energy deal

He said that attention should be paid to “new issues and conditions,” to avoid ultimate termination of the agreement “and the loss of a political ally.”

“Also, we should be honest and say whether all the issues related to the agreement are connected to protecting Serbia’s interests, or if anyone wants to revise political relations with Russia, or maybe sell NIS to another company,” Dačić said.

He said that the meeting with the Russian delegation on Friday, to be attended by Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller, would confirm the readiness of both sides to implement the entire agreement.

“For them the ratified agreement and political deal is binding. Gazprom is a state-owned company and they are prepared to be a guarantor for the realization of all three parts of the agreement,” Dačić said.

He said that Gazprom and Srbijagas also needed to reach an agreement on distribution in Serbia.

“For our people it was a question of middle-men, I put that question in Moscow, and Dušan Bajatović spoke to Alexei Miller regarding that matter,” he said.

“I hope that we will be able to sign the gas distribution agreement soon—we want distribution without a go-between, and if one must exist, it should be clearly stated that this is how Gazprom works in all of Europe,” Dačić told the Beta news agency.