Vucic: We’ll Discuss Sanctions against Oil Company NIS with Russians, as There Is No Time for Talks with the US

Oil and gas company NIS (BETAPHOTO/EMIL VAS)

Commenting on the US sanctions against oil and gas company Naftna Industrija Srbija (NIS) due to take effect on Oct. 8, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has said that Belgrade will have to find a solution to the problem, adding that Serbia must talk with Russians, a majority owner in NIS, “about everything, as there is no time left for talks with the Americans.” 

The US, according to him, has achieved its goal, while Europe will back the sanctions. He also said that “shortly, JANAF, crude oil transportation company in Croatia, will stop delivering oil,” adding that another problem was that “there is not a single bank that would not want to evade US sanctions.” 

Domestic banks in Serbia could withstand a few days longer, but “they will not want to sustain damages or shut down due to the sanctions either,” according to Vucic. “We will have countless problems, meaning that you cannot pay employees, you cannot pay anything, spare parts for the refinery... We will have to explore ways to resolve this problem,” Vucic said. He added that Belgrade had been looking for a solution and managing to find one for months, but stressed that none “have been good enough for our partners and friends.”

While touring the building of multifunctional and digital center Lozionica in Belgrade, Vucic said that more than two million cyberattacks against state and public infrastructure in Serbia had been launched in August from various countries, including Chile, Mexico, Russia, and the US, noting that all had failed to hack the data stored in the data center. 

“They have managed to cause damage to power utility Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS), the Cadaster and the Justice Ministry because they had not stored their data in the data center,” Vucic said. He added that should Serbia experience blackouts for a day or two, those responsible in these institutions would be arrested for failing to store data in the data center.