Holbrooke's valuable observations: Serbs are not paying war debt for gas, although they consumed much more than Sarajevo

The BiH Council of Ministers, at its session the day before yesterday, initiated activities to conduct negotiations with Russia so that this country pays BiH the clearing debt of 125.1 million dollars. This concerns the Russian Federation's obligations to BiH based on calculations related to trade, writes the Patria news agency.

The state and entities have agreed to the distribution of the Russian debt to Bosnia and Herzegovina: 58 percent to the Federation, 29 percent to RS, 10 percent to the state, and 3 percent to Brčko District.

Parallel to this, the issue of our country's war debt for gas to Russia remains unresolved, which currently amounts to 99 million dollars. A tax of 5 dollars was paid per 1000 cubic meters of consumed gas. This was a decision from 2009. The company GAS-Res from Banja Luka recently signed an agreement with Gazprom that does not include this obligation. The Serb side no longer wants to pay its debt. Who does the 99 million dollar debt remain with?

According to data from Energoinvest, the alleged war gas distributor, before the Federation of BiH paid its share of the debt of 6.3 million KM, it amounted to 53.89 million dollars according to the Council of Ministers' decision, while RS owes an initial 50.91 million dollars and refuses to pay a single dollar. RS believes the debt is too high, meaning the commission of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina did not determine the correct figure for that entity.

Although the war debt for gas is constantly mentioned, no one is investigating the diplomatic background of the agreement to supply gas to Sarajevo as one of the aspects of the ceasefire in 1995, after the armistice was declared. UNPROFOR recorded gas consumption during the war, and there was no objective control.

The mediator Richard Holbrooke explained this situation in his memoirs:

- The Russians controlled the gas pipeline through Gazprom, which did not want to release gas in 1995 until it received 100 million dollars for unpaid bills. The Bosnians were furious; they said most of the debt was for gas diverted by the Serbs, Holbrooke recalls.

First, local politicians went to Moscow for negotiations to release the gas. The then-Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Marijanović was personally sent to Moscow by Slobodan Milošević, as the gas was crucial for Serbs in Zvornik and the Bauxite factory, which supplied Serbia's industry with aluminum. Holbrooke writes that the gas, "what an irony, put Belgrade and Sarajevo on a united front towards Moscow."

After the war, Sarajevo had data indicating that the besieged part of the city consumed only 12 percent of the total supplied gas quantities during the war. Besieged Sarajevo had gas for an average of about 1.5 months out of the five winter months. During those war winters, Sarajevo consumed about three million German marks per month. On the other hand, Zvornik had open access to the gas pipeline, and the "Bauxite" factory in Zvornik consumed seven to eight million marks worth of gas per month on average for its production process.

- That was the monthly gas bill for Bauxite even during peacetime, a BH Gas official confirmed to Patria.

Holbrooke writes that "the American ambassador in Moscow, Thomas Pickering, fought for several long nights with the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Gazprom."

"Strobe Talbot and Leon Fuerth activated the Al Gore – Viktor Chernomyrdin diplomatic channel, the most important mechanism for US-Russian cooperation. (Chernomyrdin was also the first director of Gazprom).

Participating in this frustrating drama through constant phone calls – in a significant final conference call were Thomas Pickering, Madeleine Albright, John Menzies, Peter Tarnoff, Tom Donilon, Chris Hoh, Nick Burns, and myself, all in different locations – I had the impression that this was a financial rather than a political issue for the Russians; known for being powerful and greedy, Gazprom leaders were simply trying to squeeze the Bosnians to pay their arrears, and only Chernomyrdin could end this nightmare," wrote Holbrooke.

"Finally, after several days of drama, the American ambassador Pickering secured a serious offer from the Russians: they would wait to collect unpaid bills and open the valves if the Bosnians agreed not to hold them responsible if any explosions or other damage occurred when the gas started flowing. When Sarajevo agreed, the gas began to flow (without any serious explosions). On October 11, 1995, in a dramatic moment, lights began to flicker throughout the city, and the first test gas flowed through Sarajevo's gas pipelines," wrote Holbrooke.

Therefore, Holbrooke's observations are extremely valuable. The cautious act of releasing the gas itself and the Russian fear of massive and fatal explosions, which Holbrooke writes about, indicate that Sarajevo had not been supplied with gas for a long time. The Serbs controlled the gas pipeline, and this was even proof that they used gas as a means of blackmailing the besieged city.

If the clearing debt is paid by Russia and not offset against the gas debt, the Federation could find itself under Gazprom's blackmail and in huge trouble. If the Serb side continues to avoid payment, Energoinvest, as the gas distributor, must file a lawsuit in international courts and easily turn numerous facts in its favor.

The key player in these gas negotiations, Viktor Chernomyrdin, died in 2010 at the age of 72. Thomas Pickering is still alive and will turn 85 in a few days.