Serbia to sign gas import deal with Russia in October

BELGRADE, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Serbia will sign a three-year gas import deal with Russia next month, securing an annual supply of 2.5 billion cubic metres of natural gas, the head of the state gas company told public broadcaster RTS on Tuesday.

Srbijagas' Dusan Bajatovic said that Serbia has already arranged daily supplies of 2.5 million cubic metres of gas from Azerbaijan and receives an additional 9.5 million cubic metres daily from Russia.

Bajatovic also said that Serbia's sole gas storage facility holds 780 million cubic metres of natural gas, with an option for an additional 200 million cubic metres to be sourced from a storage facility in Hungary if needed.

Serbia remains one of Europe's few remaining buyers of Russian natural gas, even as it seeks membership in the European Union.

The government has faced pressure from Western nations to align with EU sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine but has yet to take action.

The country's oil monopoly NIS NIIS.BEL which is majority owned by Russia's Gazprom Neft SIBN.MM and Gazprom GAZP.MM is seeking a seventh waiver to postpone U.S. sanctions that would put at risk its crude oil supply.

Later on Tuesday, president Aleksandar Vucic is meeting U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to discuss tariffs and sanctions against NIS, among other things.