BakuSerbia and Azerbaijan announce a 500MW gas plant.
Azerbaijan’s state oil company will supply the fuel for the plant near Niš, shifting Serbia’s new capacity from Russian to Azerbaijani imports by 2030.
Vucic also announced expanded arms cooperation, including Nora self-propelled artillery deliveries to Baku.
Sources: TASS
THE RUSSIAN INHERITANCE
Serbia's gas system was built around a single supplier. Gazprom owns 56.15% of NIS, Serbia's national oil and gas company, and Russian gas flows through the TurkStream pipeline via Bulgaria. No other Balkan state is this exposed to a single non-EU supplier.
THE SOUTHERN GAS CORRIDOR
Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field feeds gas westward through three pipelines: SCP across Georgia, TANAP across Turkey, and TAP into Italy. The corridor was built explicitly as Europe's first major non-Russian gas route — operational since 2020.
WHY SERBIA, WHY NOW
US sanctions on NIS — triggered by its Gazprom majority — took effect in 2025, freezing the company out of dollar-denominated trade and crude shipments. Belgrade either had to force a Russian divestment or build new energy capacity outside the sanctioned entity. Niš is the second path.
THE ARMS BARTER
Serbia's Nora B-52 is a 155mm self-propelled howitzer built by Yugoimport — a rare NATO-caliber system manufactured outside the alliance. Azerbaijan already operates Serbian artillery from earlier deals; pairing gas supply with arms exports turns a commercial transaction into a strategic one.
THE NON-ALIGNED POSTURE
Serbia is an EU candidate that refuses to sanction Russia, hosts Chinese surveillance infrastructure, and sells weapons to both sides of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. Belgrade calls this 'military neutrality' — the Tito-era doctrine repackaged. The Azerbaijani deal fits the pattern: every major power gets a thread, none gets a rope.
AZERBAIJAN'S LEVERAGE MOMENT
Since Russia's 2022 invasion, Azerbaijani gas exports to Europe roughly doubled — from ~8 bcm to a 2027 target of 20 bcm. Baku has parlayed this into diplomatic weight: recognition deals, arms purchases, and infrastructure stakes across the Balkans and Central Europe.