Gazprom's Serbia deal: The Insider says 'only three months' at under half the market price; Life.ru says terms stay 'just as favourable'

What all three agree on. Russian gas supplies to Serbia have been extended by three months, to the end of 2026. The Insider, Life.ru and Vedomosti all carry this. Life.ru gives the source for the date: Dušan Bajatović, director of Serbia's state gas company Srbijagas, speaking to Serbian public broadcaster RTS.

Where they split.

Short term or good deal. The Insider's headline uses the word "only" (лишь) and counts this as the third short extension this year. Life.ru puts the stress on the terms staying "favourable" and links the deal to a call between the two presidents. Vedomosti gives the end date rather than the length. That makes the same three months read as a longer stretch.

Who is quoted. In the text we hold, only one voice appears: Serbia's gas chief. Neither Gazprom nor the Kremlin is quoted in any of the three reports.

What is not settled. - The price. Only The Insider gives a comparison with the market, and it names no source. Life.ru gives no figure. - Whether this is really the third short extension this year. Only The Insider says so. - What happens after December. None of the three reports says.

What this is about. Russia's state gas company, Gazprom, sells gas to Serbia. How long that deal runs, and at what price, is one of Moscow's clearest points of leverage in Europe.

How it got here. Serbia has no coastline and almost no gas of its own. For years it has bought nearly all of its gas from Russia, since 2021 through the TurkStream pipeline under the Black Sea and on through Bulgaria. Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The European Union answered with rounds of sanctions and set out to wean itself off Russian gas. Serbia has been a candidate to join the EU since 2012, but it has not joined those sanctions. In 2022 Belgrade signed a multi-year gas contract with Gazprom. That contract ran out in 2025, and since then the deal has been renewed in short stretches rather than for years at a time.

Who is involved. - Gazprom, Russia's state-controlled gas exporter, which sets the supply terms. - Srbijagas, Serbia's state gas company, which buys the gas. Its director, Dušan Bajatović, announced the extension. - Aleksandar Vučić, Serbia's president since 2017, who balances between Moscow and Brussels. - Vladimir Putin, Russia's president. Life.ru ties this extension to a call between the two.

What is at stake. A short contract means Belgrade must come back and ask again, often. Critics read that as a lever. Moscow and Belgrade present it as a cheap and reliable supply. A long deal would lock Serbia further into Russian energy while it seeks EU membership. No deal would leave it looking for gas elsewhere, and there are few other routes.

Where it stands. Supplies now run to the end of 2026, on terms Srbijagas calls unchanged. No report we hold says what comes next.