Serbian prime minister Aleksandar Vucic has met with representatives of Russian steelworks Red October, where the “possible privatisation of elezara Smederevo was discussed and both parties agreed to work together on possible models of cooperation.”

News of the meeting was posted on the Serbian government’s website. Red October makes special steel and alloy grades for automotive, aerospace, chemical, oil and energy industry and mechanical engineering.

“Serbia's government will soon launch the process of privatisation of elezara Smederevo steelworks and it expects Red October will be one of the credible bidders with whom the best solution for elezara Smederevo will be found,” according to the statement seen by Kallanish.

The same website noted on 4 August that Vucic had spoken with James Bouchard ceo of US company Esmark about Smederevo. Then it was stated: The Serbian government “believes Esmark is one of the credible potential partners, with whom it will define the final status of this domestic company in the coming period.”

Vucic is keen to preserve jobs and ensure continuity for the steelworks. In a separate statement, the government has told trade union representatives that it is prepared to write off the mills’ debts.

Last week, the Belgrade government also announced successful high-level meetings with Russian defence minister Sergey Shoygu on improving military cooperation, as well as with Russia's ambassador to Serbia, Alexander Chepurin. Vucic and Chepurin agreed that "the two nations had an extraordinary opportunity to improve their political and economic relations, especially in the agricultural, energy and construction industries."

Smederevo was initially offered for sale in 2012, after its former owner US Steel returned the company to state ownership.