The Balkan country remains heavily reliant on Russian gas, but its current agreement is due to expire on September 30. Serbia expects its gas deal with Russia to be extended, President Aleksandar Vučić said after speaking with Vladimir Putin, as the current agreement nears expiration. “The gas arrangement expires on September 30. I believe that, following today’s conversation, it will be extended and that we will secure stable gas supplies,” Vučić wrote on Instagram on Saturday. Serbia has depended on short-term extensions since a three-year gas deal with Russia expired in the summer of 2025. Vučić said Serbia was paying €318 per 1,000 cubic meters, far below what he described as the current market price of €868. Serbia’s balancing act The Balkan country imports some gas from Azerbaijan and produces a limited amount of its own, but remains heavily reliant on Russia. The call on Saturday reflected the difficult balance Serbia has sought to maintain throughout Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It is a candidate for European Union membership and supports Ukraine’s territorial integrity, but has kept close ties with Moscow and declined to join EU sanctions against Russia. The call came a day before Vučić was due to resign as president and begin campaigning for prime minister in an October 25 snap election. He has been Serbia’s dominant political figure since becoming prime minister in 2014 and then president in 2017. The election follows nearly two years of student-led protests over corruption and negligence. The demonstrations began after a railway station canopy collapsed in the northern city of Novi Sad in November 2024, killing 16 people. Students have since entered the election race to challenge Vučić.
