Russian president Dmitry Medvedev’s one-day visit to Belgrade on October 20 2009 saw an agreement on a loan to Serbia of a billion euro, the signing of a deal on the Serbian section of the South Stream gas pipeline and a joint venture to run the Banatski Dvor underground gas storage site, and bilateral agreements on education, science and police co-operation.
 
The billion euro loan is intended to help Serbia cover its budget deficit.
 
The South Stream deal was signed between Russian energy giant Gazprom and Srbijagas. A joint venture, South Stream Serbia – in which Gazprom will have a 51 per cent share – will have the mandate to construct and manage the Serbian section of the pipeline.
 
The joint venture to modernise the Banatski Dvor facility flows from a deal signed between Russia and Serbia in 2009, and will increase the site’s storage capacity to more than 800 million cubic metres of gas.
 
"Transnational projects like South Stream are moving forward quickly. The economic development of our countries and the energy security of Europe depend on these projects," Medvedev said.
 
Medvedev attended a commemoration of the 65^th anniversary of the liberation of Belgrade from Nazi Germany. He said that Russia and Serbia were linked by a glorious common history, spiritual values and brotherhood.
 
He reiterated Moscow’s firm backing for Belgrade’s rejection of the unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo in February 2008. Serbian president Boris Tadic thanked Medvedev for Russia’s "principled and strong support his country had given to Serbia in defending its territorial integrity in Kosovo".
 
Medvedev said that Russia strongly backed Serbia’s aspiration to join the European Union.
 
In an address to Serbia’s parliament, he said that further strengthening of relations between Serbia and Russia would be not only to their bilateral benefit, but also to that of the region of all of Europe.