LJUBLJANA, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Slovenian and Russian gas companies Geoplin and Gazprom signed a new five-year gas supply contract on Friday.
The value of the contract, which will import 600 million cubic meters of Russian gas a year, was not disclosed, according to the Slovenian Press Agency (STA).
Bostjan Napast, CEO of Geoplin, said Slovenian economic diplomacy had played a significant role in the completion of the deal, the negotiations for which were completed in late 2017, according to the STA report.
Slovenian foreign minister Karl Erjavec, who was also present at the event, said the negotiations had been technically demanding, but expressed satisfaction with the deal.
"Slovenia and Russia have a good cooperation despite the complexity of international relations," the foreign minister said. The deal is especially important for Slovenia's economy, whose energy demands are increasing, he added.
The contract is to contribute about 5 percent of Slovenia's energy needs, said the STA report.
Gazprom deputy chairman Alexander Medvedev noted that 2018 marked four decades since Russia first started supplying gas to Slovenia.
Medvedev said he was confident the two companies would start discussing a new contract soon, saying that the next deal would most likely be more long-term oriented.
