October 17 (SeeNews) - The Serbian government said it decided on Monday to ban all exports of natural gas until the end of October in a bid to ensure supplies on the domestic market.
"The decision was made in order to prevent the threat of a critical shortage of natural gas caused by a disruption in the global energy market," the government said in a statement issued after a cabinet meeting.
Serbia, which has been wholly reliant on Russia for gas supplies, opened negotiations with Azerbaijan in the summer to explore potential deliveries for next year.
In February, Serbia started building a 1.8 billion bcm link to Bulgaria's gas transmission system, which is due for completion in September 2023.
Earlier this year, Serbian energy minister Zorana Mihajlovic said that the country would no longer be able to import Russian crude oil from November 1 due to the latest sanctions to be imposed on Russia by the EU.