Known and unknown after the conversation between Vuciki and Putin

While Serbia's president, Aleksandar Vuciq, after visiting the reserve goods depot, decided to provide details through a press statement, Russia's president has submitted the information in a brief statement on the Kremlin's official page.

Serbia is largely dependent on Russian gas, and the agreement between the two countries expires on 31 May. Therefore, Vuciqi and Putin spoke on the phone May 29th about the new agreement and conditions for Serbia, which one of the rare states has not imposed sanctions on official Moscow following the invasion of Ukraine.

However, Serbia supported several UN and EU resolutions, in which it condemned aggression against Ukraine.

For this reason, but also for the fact that Russia suspended sending gas to neighbouring Bulgaria, as well as for several other countries, the conversation between Vucinqi and Putin increased the interest of world media.

Here is what is known after this encounter, but also what remained unknown.

Three - Year Contrast

Serbia's President Aleksandar Vuciq, in a statement to the media, has said the new contract will be signed for three years. The deal will be signed with the Russian state energy company Gazprom.

Hungary and Moldova renewed the same contract. While Hungary signed a 15-year agreement, Russia agreed with Moldova on a five-year contract.

It is unknown what has affected the agreed deadline of the contract announced for Serbia. An official statement from the Kremlin does not mention the deadline for which the contract has been extended.

Price and Price Still Unknown

According to Serbia's president, Putin has not discussed the gas price for Serbia. In November 2021, Vuchy agreed with Putin for a six - month monthly price of $270 per thousand cubic metres.

On May 29th, Vuciqi said he expects that the price of gas for Serbia, under the agreed formula, will depend on the price of oil and that, even when oil is more expensive, the price of gas Serbia will pay will be between $310 and $408 per thousand cubic metres of gas. He said he had already sent a letter to Gazprom to discuss the quantities.

As the Hungarian government secretes the details of the agreement signed with Russia, Moldova announced at the end of 2021 that it had agreed on a $450 price for a thousand cubic metres of Russian gas.

In his statement, Serbia's president also said the price for Serbia would depend on prices on the world market.

What does the Kremlin statement say?

Unlike the president of Serbia, Russia's President Vladimir Putin has published information on the conversation on the Kremlin's official page.

In the short communiqué, in the gas section, no details presented by Vuciqi are provided. It reportedly has agreed that Russia “will continue to supply Serbia with natural gas without obstruction”.

For Ukraine

Both Vuciqi and Putin, in the statement -- or, communities -- have mentioned having talked about the situation in Ukraine.

While the Kremlin's official statement makes no mention of anything more on this subject, Vuciq told reporters, following talks with Putin, that he stressed to Putin Serbia's position that Belgrade would want the “peace in Ukraine to be decided as soon as possible, while the Russian president provided information from its perspective”.

“told me there is an offer agreement, the contract, with which they have been recognised, which is on the table in Moscow, Kiev and other Western centres”, Vuciq said.

He added that he had heard some elements of the agreement, but that Serbia is a small country to solve those problems and that “only hopes peace will be established”.

Vucinqi did not disclose the details of the deal.

In the Kremlin community, these details are not mentioned.

For Kosovo

In his statement, Serbia's president has not mentioned Kosovo has spoken.

However, this information is made known in the Kremlin communiqué, though without more details.

Talks on this topic took place after Russian President Vladimir Putin, in talks with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, on April 26th, drew a parallel between the former Kosovo province, which declared independence in 2008 and parts of Ukraine that are under the control of pro-Russian separatists, which, unlike the Kosovo case, has been condemned by the majority in the international community.

Strengthening Relationships

In the Kremlin communiqué, the two citizens also discussed steps to enhance economic co-operation.

The mutual readiness for continued strengthening of the strategic partnership between Russia and Serbia is reconfirmed, given traditionally close ties between peoples of both countries”, said the Kremlin communiqué.

Strengthening relations between Serbia and Russia has been warned at the moment Russia is facing warnings of the European Union's sixth package of sanctions, due to Ukraine's invasion.

Serbia, so far, has not harmonised with either of these sanctions package.

Is Lavrov going to Belgrade?

Neither Putin nor Vuciqi have commented on information published by several media in Serbia that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will go to Belgrade on 7 June. If this information is confirmed, it would be the first such high-level visit by a Russian official since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. Three days later, according to German media, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will visit Serbia.