Lavrov: Russia hopes to increase gas supplies to Serbia

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the country hopes to strengthen energy dialogue with Serbia in the sphere of gas supplies.

"Unfortunately, we failed to implement plans on the construction of the South Stream gas pipeline’s leg on Serbia’s territory due to the unconstructive stance of Brussels that has blocked this project. At the same time, we expect that our energy dialogue will be consistently expanded, including the sphere of Russian gas supplies," he stressed.

The minister said that talks on new Russian investments in the Serbian economy are under way. "We hope that we will soon be able to reach agreements on mutually advantageous cooperation models and large-scale projects, which will contribute to the economic development of Serbia, to raising citizens’ living standards and improving their quality of life," the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

In addition, he expressed the hope that Russian investors would continue to be granted favorable conditions for doing business. "Our time-tested trade and investment cooperation must not depend on the influence of external factors, including the process of Belgrade’s rapprochement with the European Union. We hope that our Serbian partners will be guided by similar logic," RIA Novosti cited Lavrov.