At the request of Russia, Serbia will sign a document before the May 11 election to ensure a joint venture would be set up by Gazprom and Srbijagas. The final deal is due tomorrow on Russians’ arrival in Belgrade.

The Russian Embassy in Belgrade told Balkanmagazin that Russian Minister of Emergency and Disaster Relief, Sergei Shoigu, is due in Belgrade tomorrow. There is no official information on who will accompany him, but Gazprom officials will join the delegation too. Russians will meet Serbia’s President Boris Tadić and PM Vojislav Koštunica to once again be assured the energy deal with Russia will be ratified, Balkanmagazin confirmed.

“Russians are coming to discuss the details of the next step and sign a document on the South Stream oil gas pipeline before May 25, the deadline for Gazprom’s and Srbijagas’s joint venture”, a source which took part in preparations for oil and gas related agreements in the Kremlj and Belgrade, told Balkanmagazin.

This weekend’s arrival should come as no surprise as Gazprom President Alexei Miller paid a visit to Lybia with the President of Russia Vladimir Putin to discuss the participation of Gazprom and Italy’s Enia in building a gas pipeline from Libya to Sicily. After Libya, Putin will meet Silvio Berlusconi, the winner of Italy’s parliamentary elections.

This week Miller met Hungary’s Minister of Finance János Veres and Slovenia’s PM Janez Janša. Having entered into talks with Slovenians, Russians are tellling Austria’s OMV not to get too involved in the Nabucco gas pipeline. Balkanmagazin sources says Russians suddenly appearing in Belgrade is actually a new warning. Before a snap election, Serbia must provide a new guarantee that it will ratify the energy agreement and incorporate the sale of NIS in it, or South Stream will run through Hungary through Romania.

In addition, Balkanmagazin sources said the DS and the DSS have already made a deal to positively respond to the request from Moscow.