BELGRADE -- Serbia has paid the first installment of its gas debt to Russia, thus honoring an agreement reached in November.
Source: Tanjug
Close the entire text of the article here
The total debt reached USD 224 million, and the Russian side initially asked to be fully repaid by March 2015.
Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, however, said in late October the country will not be able to fulfill its obligation within that deadline. He said at the time that 100 million could be paid by the end of 2014, but that setting aside the whole amount would seriously impact Serbia's public debt and fiscal deficit in 2015.
In a telephone conversation in early November Vucic and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on a three-installment model of payment. The next 100 million must be paid by the end of 2015, and the remaining 24 million during 2016.
Serbia has been late in paying for gas deliveries for years, which Russia has tolerated. The question of the debt was raised in light of the tense political and energy situation between Europe and the Kremlin, the daily said.
In late October, the delivery of Russian gas to Serbia was reduced by 28 percent. The supply of this fuel has normalized after the agreement reached between Vucic and Putin.