Brnabic: Vucic did great thing with gas deal, working with him is both phenomenal and difficult

Photo: Nikola Tomic

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said last night that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, by reaching agreement on a favorable gas price with Vladimir Putin, did a great thing for Serbia and gained more than after the previous conversation with the Russian president last year, under "100 times more difficult circumstances."

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"Today, President Aleksandar Vucic did a great job for Serbia and did a great thing, and I really don't know how he succeeded," Brnabic said on TV Pink, reports Tanjug.

She recalled that on November 25 last year, after talks with Putin, Vucic managed to extend the existing contract until May 31 at the same prices, which was around $250 for 1,000 cubic meters of gas, "when everybody else was paying three, four and even five times more."

She stressed that Vucic now managed "more and better for Serbia, under 100 times more difficult circumstances."

As she explained, since the last agreed gas arrangement, the war in Ukraine started and prices have gone sky high, but Serbia received the same oil formula.

"We received the same conditions, and not even for six months, but for three years, at a time when there is such instability, when prices are abnormal and when prices will only grow in the winter," said Brnabic.

The prime minister explained that today, according to that formula, the price for Serbia would be around 340 dollars, maybe even less, while the prices on the stock exchange for others and most countries in Europe, except for some such as Moldova, Hungary and Belarus, are 960 dollars.

"Ours is between 310 and 340 dollars, and theirs is now, even when the price is still low compared to what it will be in the winter, 960 dollars. That is why Vucic says that we pay approximately three times less," the prime minister explained.

She said that the price of gas in the winter will go over 3,000 and 4,000 dollars, when Serbia will be getting it according to the oil formula for between 310 and 410 dollars.

"Then you know why Vucic says, even for 10 times less. It will be that way. And what he succeeded in is something I couldn't even dream of," Brnabic stressed.

She added that Vucic also conveyed yesterday Serbia's desire is for peace to be established.

"And those sanctions do not contribute to moving towards peace, they antagonize the whole situation and distance the entire Russian people from all those who imposed sanctions. So it has nothing to do with the gas arrangement," Brnabic said.

She also stressed that Serbian is not a policy of sitting on two chairs, but on one, Serbian.

"It really is sitting on the Serbian chair and conducting a policy in the best interest of the country. On Thursday and Friday, we had a high delegation from the UAE, next Saturday I am going to Rwanda, who asked us to help them with digitization... We are positioning ourselves to secure as many partnerships as possible in such difficult and complex times," said Brnabic.

When it comes to the visit of member of the European Parliament Viola von Cramon on Monday, Brnabic said that talks are always good and necessary.

She said that struggle is taking place every day, from morning to night, and at the end of the day you rejoice that you have remained a country that pursues its own policy.

Brnabic added that she could not even comment on the fact that on Saturday in Belgrade, the informal group "Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians and Serbians together against the war" demanded that Russia immediately withdraws "all its 4,036 intelligence agents" from Serbia, describing that as "nonsense."

"I ask them to provide evidence they have for such claims and we will process it," said Brnabic.

She added that working with Vucic is phenomenal on the one hand, but terribly difficult on the other.

"But why is it good? I don't mind that, I love working with him and it is invaluable that we have a man for whom Serbia is life. Someone who knows him personally must know that. There is the famous anecdote with the raspberries, when he called me at 6 in the morning to ask why we are importing raspberries from Morocco! He is absolutely committed and that has brought strength and stability of Serbia," said the prime minister.

(Telegraf.rs)