Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has expressed disappointment after Moscow offered Serbia only a short-term gas contract lasting until the end of this year.
“They offered us a contract until the New Year, and I said this is very discouraging news for us,” Vučić admitted in an interview with Informer.
The Serbian leader had met with Russian President Vladimir Putin several times, hoping to secure a three-year agreement with Gazprom — ideally until May 2026. However, after months of negotiations, Belgrade was presented with a limited deal instead.
According to Serbian officials, the delay may be linked to U.S. sanctions imposed on the Serbian oil and gas company NIS, which is majority-owned by Russia’s Gazprom Neft. Vučić warned that these restrictions “will affect every citizen.”
Washington, however, maintains that the sanctions are aimed at constraining Russia’s energy influence rather than targeting Serbia itself.
The development highlights Belgrade’s growing energy vulnerability and the challenges of balancing its traditional ties with Moscow against mounting Western pressure — a delicate act that has become increasingly difficult amid the war in Ukraine and shifting geopolitical realities in Europe.
