The President of an eastern European country has said that the issue of Russian energy supplies to the state is critical, and he wants to forge a closer relationship. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met with Vladimir Putin as he attended Moscow’s Victory Day parade on May 9, an annual event held to mark the end of World War 2. “You know that we have a crucial issue,” the leader of the Balkan republic said. “This is the issue of gas supplies.

“We have had a long-term contract with very good conditions. I should thank you for that. And we hope that it will be possible to keep those conditions for us, and, if I may say it, even improve them.” President Vucic added: “We cooperate in various fields, but I think that we can boost and strengthen this cooperation in all fields.” It comes as the EU, of which Serbia is not a member, seeks to axe its energy supplies from Russia following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine launched in 2022.

Its REPowerEU plan aims to achieve energy independence from Moscow via a phased exit from oil, gas, and nuclear imports.

Officials aim to cut Russian gas imports by 33% by the end of 2025, and stop them completely by the end of 2027.

On May 9, Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov told reporters that the issue of gas supplies to European countries was raised at talks between Moscow and Washington, according to the TASS state news service.

Reuters has reported that officials from the US and Russia held discussions about the former helping to revive Russian gas sales to Europe, according to eight sources familiar with the matter.

A role for Russian gas on the continent could help grease the gears of a peace deal with Putin over the conflict in Ukraine, it is thought.

The Russian news agency Interfax quoted senior Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov as saying: “We are raising this issue with the Americans.”

The UK has announced a fresh wave of sanctions targeting Putin’s shadow fleet of vessels carrying cargo in defiance of existing restrictions on oil and gas exports.

The government will take action against up to 100 oil tankers that have been transporting more than $24billion (£18billion) worth of cargo since last year.