Vucic Says There Are Three Options for Oil Company NIS, Jan. 15 Is the Deadline for Solving the Issue

Aleksandar Vucic (BETAPHOTO/Predsednistvo Srbije/Dimitrije Goll)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Dec. 9 said that there were three main paths for oil and gas company Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS), amid the US sanctions against the company.  

“Option number one is that the US issues an operating license to NIS, or lift the sanctions against the Russian companies, which is unlikely. A more likely option is that Russia sells its stake to a third party. I hope they will do this. And the last option, which I hope will not happen, is that Serbia will be forced to act as a state. If it comes to this option, it will happen in 37 days, that is, on Jan. 15,” Vucic said.

Addressing a panel titled “Europe’s competitiveness in a divided geopolitical landscape,” held as part of the GLOBSEC BELTALKS Forum in Belgrade, he said that everyone had to understand that Jan. 15 was the deadline, that it could not be extended, and that fuel supplies for Serbia’s citizens and the economy could not be jeopardized.

Vucic specified that if Serbia had to resort to the last option, it would not nationalize NIS, but would rather pay for Russia’s stake in the company. He also said that Belgrade was still waiting for the news from Moscow about the gas arrangement, adding that Serbia was ready to diversify its energy sources.