AlbanianEconomy.comYour News from Albania
Russia Pledges Billion Dollar Loan to Revive Serbia
Belgrade | 20 October 2009 | By Bojana Barlovac and Pedja Obradovic
Dmitry Medvedev came for the first time to Belgrade accompanied by a delegation of about 100 associates, ministers and businesspeople, bearing approval for Serbia`s request for a loan worth a billion dollars.
The Serbian and Russian presidents have already agreed on the loan. Although neither president mentioned details at a joint press conference, Balkan Insight has learned it will include 200 million dollars for the budget, while the rest is earmarked for infrastructure projects, mostly for the railways.
The Serbian President, Boris Tadic, said only that the Serbian delegation had received a positive answer to their request for provision of a 1 billion US dollars loan at today’s talks.
Serbian and Russian representatives signed a number of bilateral agreements, including one to establish a joint company (South stream Serbia) to project, build, and manage the route for the South Stream gas pipeline through Serbia and another for gas storage facility in northern Serbia at Banatski Dvor (Banatski Dvor UGS Joint Venture). The company will manage and built underground tank with capacity of 450 million cubic meters of gas.
Tadic and Medvedev said relations between the two countries were developing well and agreed that Medvedev’s visit was of historic significance.
In a clear reference to Kosovo, Medvedev said Russia would continue to defend Serbia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. He added that Russia also supported Serbia’s EU integration process. Tadic thanked Medvedev for Russia’s strong support for Serbia in its struggle to prevent international recognition of Kosovo’s independence.
“We are waiting for the International Court of Justice report on the Kosovo issue and then we will be ready for talks with representatives of the Kosovo and Metohija Albanians on compromises and a sustainable solution […] but Serbia will not accept Kosovo’s independence under any circumstances,” Tadic said.
The UN has asked the Hague Court, the ICJ, to give a ruling on Kosovo’s independence, declared in 2008. Serbia insists Kosovo’s independence is illegal and that the territory remains a province of Serbia.
Tadic added that the two sides had discussed investments in Serbian railways and a Danube River port during their meeting.
“The modernisation of NIS [Serbia’s oil and gas company, now mainly Russian owned], involvement in the construction of the South Stream pipeline, the underground tank in Banatski Dvor – these are all big projects on which the energy security of Europe depends,” Medvedev said, referring to projects involving both countries.
Medvedev’s visit had symbolic value, coinciding with the 65th anniversary of the day when Soviet and Yugoslav forces liberated the Serbian capital in 1944. The two presidents laid a wreath at the grave of Belgrade’s wartime liberators.
The Russian leader also addressed the Serbian parliament where he told the deputies that Serbia’s admittance into the EU would not have a negative impact on relations with Russia but could only advance their relations. Source: Balkaninsight
Other Articles
1 Response for “Russia Pledges Billion Dollar Loan to Revive Serbia”
Leave a Reply
Serbia should not expect much from Rusia which is itself in a big crisis.