Russia's state-controlled Gazprom energy company says that its subsidiary, Tsentrgaz, has won a tender to build the Serbian stretch of the South Stream pipeline.
The announcement came as Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow to discuss cooperation, including in the energy sector.
Vucic said after the talks that an agreement on the construction of the Serbian portion of South Stream will be signed in the coming days.
He said earlier that only technical issues remained to be resolved before a deal is signed.
South Stream aims to transport Russian natural gas via the Black Sea and the Balkans to Europe, bypassing Ukraine.
Vucic also announced that Putin will visit Belgrade by the end of 2014, and said the visit testifies to the good relations between Russia and Serbia.
Based on reporting by B92 and ITAR-TASS