Kiev rejects Gazprom's offer, Serbia not to be affected

Gazprom has officially offered Ukraine a one-year contract on the transit of gas under the condition that the mutual lawsuits are withdrawn, which Kiev has rejected. This makes the continued transit of gas through the Ukrainian pipeline which supplies Europe uncertain.

The contract on the transit of Russian gas expires for Ukraine on December 31, so they are looking for a new one, for ten years. Time is running out, and no agreement is in sight, as Russia only wants a one-year contract. Gazprom has announced that both legs of TurkStream have been filled with gas, which will start flowing toward Turkey by the end of the year.

– As the final round of negotiations between Kiev and Moscow begins in early December, with Brussels as the mediator, and I believe that an agreement will eventually be reached – said Jelica Putnikovic of Balkan Magazin.

Until the gas pipelines NordStream 2 and TurkStream are completed, one of the potential options and the most acceptable option for European consumers is to reduce the delivery by the Ukrainian gas pipeline by a third.

– Up to 150 billion cubic meters of gas a year used to go through Ukraine. Today, the gas system through Ukraine is not capable of handling such amounts, as it's been used for years without being renewed, so objectively its capacities are far below a hundred billion – says Srecko Djukic, a former ambassador.

Still, this has caused all the countries that could be affected to fill up their storage facilities, and there are also negotiations about additional quantities of gas.

– Srbijagas and the government have taken all the measures to provide security even if there are problems with the delivery of gas through the territory of Ukraine. This means that gas supply will not be affected, regardless of the potential difficulties – Srbijagas says in a press release.

In addition to supplying Europe, Russia is turning more and more to consumers in Asia. Next month, Russia and China will put into operation one of the largest gas pipelines in the world, “The Strength of Siberia”, which will deliver this energy source to Chinese consumers.

Gazprom Moscow

JP Srbijagas Novi Sad

Gazprom

Srbijagas

Srećko Đukić

Jelica Putniković

NordStream 2

TurkStream

gas supply