US plans sanctions on Serbian oil firm over Russian share - Serbian President
Photo: Aleksandar Vučić, President of Serbia (Getty Images)
The United States is planning to impose sanctions on Serbia's leading oil and gas company, NIS, due to its Russian ownership. Over fifty percent of the Serbian company is owned by the energy giant Gazprom, according to Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić for Euronews.
According to the Serbian leader, confirmation has been received that the United States will impose sanctions on NIS in the “next few days” due to its Russian ownership.
During an interview with Informer TV, Vučić also mentioned that he expects the United Kingdom and the European Union to align with the United States and introduce their own sanctions against the Serbian NIS company.
The US Department of the Treasury has not disclosed the details of the sanctions package. The Serbian president stated that Belgrade had not yet received an "official paper with details" from the American side.
"Of course, this opens us up to problems with our Russian friends about everything. From politics to everything else," Vučić said in an interview with the Serbian service of the Arab television channel Al Jazeera.
The Russian gas monopoly Gazprom and its subsidiary, Gazprom Neft, own 6.15% and 50% of NIS, respectively, while the remaining shares are owned by the Serbian government and other minor shareholders.
"We will have to look if there is a possibility to reduce Russian ownership below 50% and to talk with Russian partners about it," Vučić said.
Serbia's stance on Russia and the war in Ukraine
It is worth noting that Serbia has repeatedly condemned Russian military aggression against Ukraine on international forums, such as the United Nations. However, Belgrade has continued to resist pressure to impose sanctions against Moscow.
As a reminder, in December 2022, Vučić assured that Serbia would not become a bypass route for European Union sanctions against Russia.
In February this year, Western media reported that Serbia had received another shipment of weapons from its ally Russia, despite international sanctions against Moscow.
In May, Vučić announced that Serbia had agreed to improve relations with Ukraine and to host an economic forum.
In October, for the first time in 2.5 years, the Serbian president spoke on the phone with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and thanked him for the gas supply.
At the same time, in October, Vučić stated that Serbia would provide Ukraine with equipment worth over 8 million euros, including generators and transformers.
Recently, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin said that the country intends to continue purchasing Russian gas. According to him, Belgrade is in negotiations with Moscow to extend the natural gas supply contract, which is set to expire in March.
