According to a Reuters report, the United States expects the Russians to withdraw as soon as possible and completely from the Serbian NIS oil company, for which they have set a three-month deadline to find a new investor.
Gazprom Neft and Gazprom, which have a majority stake in the company, have already reacted to this and notified the US Department of the Treasury’s Sanctions Office (OFAC) that are ready to hand over control to a third party.
The seriousness of the situation is indicated by the fact that, based on the Serbian authorities’ investigation, there is only enough crude oil to operate the refinery until November 25.
At the last government meeting, Vucic emphasized:
the decision must be made in the next seven days…the refinery must be operational.
The president made it clear that, although it is an option, they want to avoid the complete nationalization of the company, because it could cause diplomatic and economic conflicts in the long term. However, he indicated that if the Russian owners’ negotiations with an unnamed Asian and one European with an interested party (which could even be Mol), Serbia is ready to pay an amount higher than the market price to save NIS.
The cover image is an illustration. Cover image source: Getty Images
