US to Impose Sanctions on Serbia's Primary Oil Firm, Says Vucic
According to Serbia's president, the United States' decision to impose sanctions on NIS, the country's primary oil company, is a result of its Russian ownership. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
The decision to impose sanctions on Serbia's oil and gas company NIS stems from its Russian ownership, as stated by the country's president, Aleksandar Vucic.
“We got confirmation that in the next few days, the US will introduce sanctions against NIS because of Russian ownership,” Vucic shared during an interview with Serbian broadcaster Informer TV. He noted, however, that Belgrade had yet to receive any “official paper with details” from Washington.
NIS, Serbia's energy firm, is primarily owned by the Russian corporation Gazprom. In 2022, Gazprom Neft, which took part in the privatization of NIS—the largest oil company in the Western Balkans—adjusted its stake, reducing it to 50%, while Gazprom acquired 6.15%.
President Vucic anticipates that the UK will align with the sanctions, stating, “which means everyone,” and added, “I think this is part of broader geopolitical pressure on Russia.”
After Gazprom Neft's stake reduction in 2022, Vucic indicated that Serbian authorities might eventually need to either buy out or seek a third-party buyer for Gazprom Neft’s share in order to mitigate the effects of anti-Russian sanctions.
Vucic and his cabinet have consistently called attention to the perceived hypocrisy and double standards of the West. They argue that while the West insists on maintaining Ukraine’s territorial integrity, it simultaneously pressures Serbia to recognize the independence of the breakaway region of Kosovo, which is governed by NATO-backed ethnic Albanians.
While Serbia is officially committed to EU membership, the bloc has made this aspiration contingent upon sanctioning Russia and recognizing Kosovo, among other stipulations, which Vucic has firmly stated he will never endorse.
Sanya Singh contributed to this report for TROIB News
“We got confirmation that in the next few days, the US will introduce sanctions against NIS because of Russian ownership,” Vucic shared during an interview with Serbian broadcaster Informer TV. He noted, however, that Belgrade had yet to receive any “official paper with details” from Washington.
NIS, Serbia's energy firm, is primarily owned by the Russian corporation Gazprom. In 2022, Gazprom Neft, which took part in the privatization of NIS—the largest oil company in the Western Balkans—adjusted its stake, reducing it to 50%, while Gazprom acquired 6.15%.
President Vucic anticipates that the UK will align with the sanctions, stating, “which means everyone,” and added, “I think this is part of broader geopolitical pressure on Russia.”
After Gazprom Neft's stake reduction in 2022, Vucic indicated that Serbian authorities might eventually need to either buy out or seek a third-party buyer for Gazprom Neft’s share in order to mitigate the effects of anti-Russian sanctions.
Vucic and his cabinet have consistently called attention to the perceived hypocrisy and double standards of the West. They argue that while the West insists on maintaining Ukraine’s territorial integrity, it simultaneously pressures Serbia to recognize the independence of the breakaway region of Kosovo, which is governed by NATO-backed ethnic Albanians.
While Serbia is officially committed to EU membership, the bloc has made this aspiration contingent upon sanctioning Russia and recognizing Kosovo, among other stipulations, which Vucic has firmly stated he will never endorse.
Sanya Singh contributed to this report for TROIB News
