Hungary turns down "gas loan" request

Srbijagas was still managing to secure some amounts of natural gas for heating and power plants today, Director Dusan Bajatovic said. However, this public company in charge of importing and distributing gas in Serbia warned that those reserves "cannot last forever". Hungary turns down "gas loan" request Bajatovic was in neighboring Hungary today in a bid to negotiate a "loan" from this country, that would enable the system in Serbia to be sustained. However, he said in Novi Sad on Wednesday evening after the visit, that the Hungarian side has not approved a gas loan to Serbia because of its internal requirements. At the talks in Budapest earlier today, Bajatovic said, he had only managed to secure for the Hungarians to release gas for Serbia as soon as Russia and Ukraine reach agreement, "and before that gas reaches the Serbian border". "Moreover, they are ready to release a slightly larger quantity so that Serbia's energy system could be restored to full capacity as quickly as possible," Bajatovic told a news conference. The Russia-Ukraine dispute has severely disrupted gas deliveries in Europe, with the Balkan states hit the hardest. Serbian gas supplies were completely shut down yesterday afternoon, when Srbijagas announced the country had gas stored to last it only several hours. This morning, Bajatovic specified that Serbia has about one million cubic meters stored at the Banatski Dvor facility, used by priority consumers during the day. Srbijagas, he continued, is "emptying the system", allowing the pressure to drop and in this way still managing to secure heating to Belgrade and Novi Sad, but warns that "this cannot last forever". Bajatovic also said that he expects that the gas dispute "cannot last longer than Tuesday". All this comes as Serbia celebrates Christmas and with temperatures beneath zero degrees centigrade even during daytime for the past several days. The government has in the meanwhile set up its crisis headquarters to monitor and manage the crisis, while President Boris Tadic, Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic and Energy Minister Petar Skundric all reassured Serbians last night that the energy system in the country is stable. They also voiced optimism that the crisis will be resolved "in the next couple of days". "We have had constant communication with the Russian Federation representatives yesterday and received assurances that they will try to resolve the dispute with Ukraine as soon as possible," Skundric told a news conference in Belgrade last night. Cvetkovic said on Wednesday evening that the gas supply will be normalized over the next few days, having in mind "all the negotiations that are under way on this topic". "The situation is not critical, but not quite good either," the premier said, addressing a news conference following an emergency session of the government dedicated to the energy situation in the country. Speaking about the negotiations in Hungary earlier today on a possible gas loan, Cvetkovic said the Hungarian representatives said their country does not have sufficient quantities, but that they offered to release gas from their reserves provided certain quantities of gas are released from Russia. Serbia has asked Russia to send it a part of the gas supply through an alternate route, i.e. Belarus, Cvetkovic said, but "that route is overburdened and is working at full capacity". "I expect that we might get certain quantities of gas that way, but this will be known tomorrow," the prime minister said. The country's electric energy system is stable, Cvetkovic added, and it is functioning well. Serbia has sufficient quantities of heating oil and the government has recommended that electric power suppliers be cut down on public lighting in cities until the gas supply problem has been resolved.

Hungary turns down "gas loan" request

Bajatović was in neighboring Hungary today in a bid to negotiate a "loan" from this country, that would enable the system in Serbia to be sustained.

However, he said in Novi Sad on Wednesday evening after the visit, that the Hungarian side has not approved a gas loan to Serbia because of its internal requirements.

At the talks in Budapest earlier today, Bajatović said, he had only managed to secure for the Hungarians to release gas for Serbia as soon as Russia and Ukraine reach agreement, "and before that gas reaches the Serbian border".

"Moreover, they are ready to release a slightly larger quantity so that Serbia's energy system could be restored to full capacity as quickly as possible," Bajatović told a news conference.

The Russia-Ukraine dispute has severely disrupted gas deliveries in Europe, with the Balkan states hit the hardest.

Serbian gas supplies were completely shut down yesterday afternoon, when Srbijagas announced the country had gas stored to last it only several hours.

This morning, Bajatović specified that Serbia has about one million cubic meters stored at the Banatski Dvor facility, used by priority consumers during the day.

Srbijagas, he continued, is "emptying the system", allowing the pressure to drop and in this way still managing to secure heating to Belgrade and Novi Sad, but warns that "this cannot last forever".

Bajatović also said that he expects that the gas dispute "cannot last longer than Tuesday".

All this comes as Serbia celebrates Christmas and with temperatures beneath zero degrees centigrade even during daytime for the past several days.

The government has in the meanwhile set up its crisis headquarters to monitor and manage the crisis, while President Boris Tadić, Prime Minister Mirko Cvetković and Energy Minister Petar Škundrić all reassured Serbians last night that the energy system in the country is stable.

They also voiced optimism that the crisis will be resolved "in the next couple of days".

"We have had constant communication with the Russian Federation representatives yesterday and received assurances that they will try to resolve the dispute with Ukraine as soon as possible," Škundrić told a news conference in Belgrade last night.

Cvetković said on Wednesday evening that the gas supply will be normalized over the next few days, having in mind "all the negotiations that are under way on this topic".

"The situation is not critical, but not quite good either," the premier said, addressing a news conference following an emergency session of the government dedicated to the energy situation in the country.

Speaking about the negotiations in Hungary earlier today on a possible gas loan, Cvetković said the Hungarian representatives said their country does not have sufficient quantities, but that they offered to release gas from their reserves provided certain quantities of gas are released from Russia.

Serbia has asked Russia to send it a part of the gas supply through an alternate route, i.e. Belarus, Cvetković said, but "that route is overburdened and is working at full capacity".

"I expect that we might get certain quantities of gas that way, but this will be known tomorrow," the prime minister said.

The country's electric energy system is stable, Cvetković added, and it is functioning well. Serbia has sufficient quantities of heating oil and the government has recommended that electric power suppliers be cut down on public lighting in cities until the gas supply problem has been resolved.