Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that the Russian owners of NIS AD, the country’s main oil company and sole refiner, are prepared to sell a stake in the company to avoid it getting sanctioned by the US.
Vucic confirmed to reporters in Copenhagen on Thursday that Gazprom PJSC may sell an 11.3% stake in NIS and allow it to start importing US-produced crude. The proposals are intended to address concerns raised by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control. Gazprom and its oil arm together hold about 56% of the company.
“The question is whether the Americans will accept that,” Vucic said, adding that while Russia may be seeking a compromise, the US stance likely reflects broader political considerations.
US sanctions targeting the refinery have recently been postponed. They were first announced in January by the outgoing Biden. The measures haven’t taken effect due to six postponements under Donald Trump’s administration.
NIS’s refinery in Pancevo, just east of Serbia’s capital Belgrade, currently imports crude via the Janaf pipeline through neighbor Croatia — an EU member unlike Serbia — and fears a looming cutoff of supply if the OFAC doesn’t grant another delay, or remove the measures.
Serbia has offered to buy out the Russians from NIS — which it had sold to Gazprom in 2008 — but wants to avoid a forced takeover. The company is vital for the Balkan nation’s fuel market and remains a top budget contributor.
A spokeswoman at Russia’s Foreign Ministry, said on Thursday that joint negotiations with the US on the matter are ongoing, Interfax reported.
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