The United States called for the complete withdrawal of Russian capital from the Serbian oil company NIS. About this stated President of Serbia Oleksandr Vucic during a press conference.
According to Vucich, the USA does not allow the presence of even 49% of Russian capital in NIS. He noted that Serbia was given only 45 days to resolve this situation, after which the sanctions will come into effect in full.
NIS came under secondary U.S. sanctions on January 10 due to its ties to Russia’s Gazprom Neft, which together with Gazprom owns 56.15% of NIS. Another 29.87% of shares belong to Serbia. Earlier, Vucic declared the country’s readiness to buy the Russian share, the value of which is estimated at approximately 700 million euros. The President of Serbia is currently planning talks with Vladimir Putin to resolve this issue.
Vucic called the US sanctions “severe and serious” and expressed his intention to ask the incoming US administration to reconsider the decision or find possible mitigating measures.
“Today, a few days before the change of power, the most powerful country in the world – the United States – imposed sanctions against NIS. Serbia, at least, was not the target of the United States, it is said, not only about NIS, but also about a large-scale attack on Russian companies.
What is required of us? Several deadlines have been established and some conclusions have been drawn. These are the toughest sanctions ever imposed on a single company in Serbia. We are required to completely withdraw Russian capital from NIS AD NOVI SAD. We will wait for further clarifications. They do not allow the retention of 49% or any smaller percentage of Russian capital. A complete withdrawal of Russian capital from the NIS is required,” – said Vuchich.
Commenting on the situation, the US State Department noted that “normal business with Russia is impossible.” The statement emphasized that the US remains committed to efforts to reduce Russian revenues used to support the war against Ukraine.
Serbia’s energy sector is largely dependent on Russia. Gazprom is the main supplier of gas to the country and the main owner of both gas pipelines through which Russian gas is supplied to Serbia. The current gas supply contract concluded in May 2022 expires in March 2025.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Belgrade has refused to join Western sanctions against Moscow and continues to cooperate with Russian officials.
As a reminder, NIS is one of the largest vertically integrated energy systems in Southeast Europe. It is engaged in exploration and extraction of oil and gas, sale of petroleum products, production and trade of electricity, implementation of projects in the field of petrochemicals. The main production facilities are located in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary. The majority shareholders are “Gazprom Nafta” (50% of shares), “Gazprom” (6.15%) and Serbia (29.87%).
