BELGRADE, September 6. /TASS/. Belgrade and Moscow will soon start negotiations on the extension of Russia's gas supply contract with Serbia as the current agreement expires in 2025, Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin said.

"Trade exchange with Russia is important for Serbia, and this was a very important part of the meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. It shows how much the Russian leader cares about Serbia. For Russia it is a statistical mistake, but for us it means a lot, it means a lot to us. Very soon, Minister [Nenad] Popovic, who is the president of the joint government body, will meet with his Russian counterpart to see what can be done to improve the situation," Vulin's press office quoted the official as saying.

The official also emphasized that he "cannot imagine" a situation in which Serbia would survive the current winter without Russian gas. According to him, the final decision on the extension of the supply contract will be made by the presidents of the two countries, as it "will be political, not just economic."

During a meeting with Vulin at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok on September 4, the Russian president said that Moscow and Belgrade must resolve the issue of the expiring gas contract.

Serbian government minister Nenad Popovic, who oversees international economic cooperation, is co-chairman of the Intergovernmental Russian-Serbian Committee on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation. On the Russian side, the committee is headed by Russian Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov.