BELGRADE, November 17. /TASS/. Serbia is buying gas from Russia at $420 per 1,000 cubic meters, while the market price is $1,300-1,400 per 1,000 cubic meters, Dusan Bajatovic, general director of Srbijagas said in an interview with the TV Happy channel on Thursday.
"The average price [of gas sold to Serbia] is $353 per 1,000 cubic meters, while the real price on the market is $1,300-1,400, which means that we would have already overpaid 4 times today. We receive 2 billion cubic meters [of gas] from Russia at $420, which is the lowest gas price in Europe," Bajatovic said. He noted that the stability and affordability of gas supplies attract foreign investors to Serbia.
"We discussed this before, that in other countries [of Europe] they provided households with gas at the expense of the industry, but this will lead to a halt in production. We [in Serbia] provide industrial production all the time, so foreign investors come to Serbia. Serbia has ensured its energy security," Bajatovic said.
Earlier, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that the coming winter in Europe would be "cold" and the next one will be "polar." He did not rule out an increase in exchange prices for gas to $6,000 per 1,000 cubic meters (at the end of October, it fell below $1,000, and is now trading at about $1,400). He emphasized that only timely purchases of Russian gas saved Serbia from a disaster and power outages.