Ilić: Dinkić jeopardizing gas deal

New Serbia leader Velimir Ilic wants Economy Minister Mladjan Dinkic relieved of his duties. According to Ilic, Dinkic is putting the energy deal with Russia in jeopardy. Ilic: Dinkic jeopardizing gas deal “If Prime Minister (Mirko) Cvetkovic and President Boris Tadic do not get a handle on Dinkic, I will propose that the opposition parties call for his dismissal in parliament,” Ilic said in an interview with daily Vecernje Novosti. He said that Dinkic “does not respect the Serbian parliament and its decision.” “It comes before all institutions in the country. When an institution decides on something, Dinkic then appears on the scene, preaches to us, and sabotages these decisions. Even decisions that I signed. Dinkic signed an agreement quoting the price of the Serbian Oil Industry (NIS) at EUR 400mn, and now he is arguing over the price in order to sabotage this agreement… Serbia cannot allow this historic agreement to fall through because of Dinkic,” Ilic said. Asked when Dinkic signed anything accepting the price of EUR 400mn, Ilic replied that “he, as the economy minister, gave his approval and positive opinion on the agreement with Russia, which states that the price of NIS is EUR 400mn. Without Dinkic’s signature, the Serbian government would never have been able to discuss the agreement.” Asked why Serbia should turn its back on the money and allow Russia to buy NIS for five times less than its estimated value, Ilic said that “it is not a problem for the Russians to pay a higher price, but everyone is forgetting about the importance of having a gas pipeline passing through our country.” “For the transit of gas alone, Serbia will receive EUR 200mn a year, and a large number of jobs will be created. We could have sold NIS to OMV for a higher price, but OMV would not have invested another dinar,” he claimed. Regarding the break-up of the country’s largest opposition party, the Serb Radical Party (SRS), Ilic said that he did not want “fan the flames any further, or get involved in the rift in the SRS.” Velimir Ilic (FoNet, archive)

Ilić: Dinkić jeopardizing gas deal

“If Prime Minister (Mirko) Cvetković and President Boris Tadić do not get a handle on Dinkić, I will propose that the opposition parties call for his dismissal in parliament,” Ilić said in an interview with daily Večernje Novosti.

He said that Dinkić “does not respect the Serbian parliament and its decision.”

“It comes before all institutions in the country. When an institution decides on something, Dinkić then appears on the scene, preaches to us, and sabotages these decisions. Even decisions that I signed. Dinkić signed an agreement quoting the price of the Serbian Oil Industry (NIS) at EUR 400mn, and now he is arguing over the price in order to sabotage this agreement… Serbia cannot allow this historic agreement to fall through because of Dinkić,” Ilić said.

Asked when Dinkić signed anything accepting the price of EUR 400mn, Ilić replied that “he, as the economy minister, gave his approval and positive opinion on the agreement with Russia, which states that the price of NIS is EUR 400mn. Without Dinkić’s signature, the Serbian government would never have been able to discuss the agreement.”

Asked why Serbia should turn its back on the money and allow Russia to buy NIS for five times less than its estimated value, Ilić said that “it is not a problem for the Russians to pay a higher price, but everyone is forgetting about the importance of having a gas pipeline passing through our country.”

“For the transit of gas alone, Serbia will receive EUR 200mn a year, and a large number of jobs will be created. We could have sold NIS to OMV for a higher price, but OMV would not have invested another dinar,” he claimed.

Regarding the break-up of the country’s largest opposition party, the Serb Radical Party (SRS), Ilić said that he did not want “fan the flames any further, or get involved in the rift in the SRS.”