NEW YORK – President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić stated yesterday, speaking to the media in New York from the United Nations General Assembly, that the United States has postponed sanctions against the Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS) for only four more days, and that they will take effect on 1 October.
On 26 September, Radio-Television of Serbia reported that the sanctions had been postponed for an additional eight days and will take effect on 8-9 October.
NIS ended up on the sanctions list at the start of this year due to the Russian majority ownership stake in the company, which dates back to 2008. Russia has reportedly refused to sell part of its shares in the company so that the sanctions can be avoided.
So far this year, the full implementation of sanctions against the company NIS has been postponed six times based on special licenses issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of the Treasury.
Speaking from New York, Vučić emphasized that Serbia, in the case of NIS, is collateral damage of the current relations between America, the West, and Russia.
“We will pay a high price because the Russians are the majority owners of NIS. To be absolutely clear to all our citizens – we have been extremely fair to both our Russian and American partners. We will strive to remain fair, but people must understand that we will pay a very high price,” Vučić said.
He stated that Serbia will have reserves in the upcoming period, but warned that there will be problems with paying salaries to NIS employees and with all other transactions, as no bank will want to cooperate with a company under U.S. sanctions.
According to him, Serbia is working on finding a solution, but there is very little interest in the problems we are facing.
He said that at this moment, he does not see a solution to the problem and called on everyone in Serbia who may have a solution to come forward.
“Whatever has been offered, the Russian side does not want to accept, and whatever has been proposed to delay the sanctions, the Americans do not accept. Should I threaten the Russians and the Americans? We are small, it makes no sense, but I have to ensure oil for the people,” Vučić said.
The Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS) stated today that it currently has sufficient reserves of crude oil for processing and adequate quantities of petroleum products.
NIS said in a statement that it “continues to cooperate with the US Department of the Treasury on the request to be removed from the sanctions list and to extend the license, as well as with shareholders to resolve the emerging situation.”
The company emphasised that it respects the laws of Serbia and other countries where it operates, and that its business activities have not contributed to the imposition of sanctions that now threaten its operations and the social stability of over 13,000 employees.
Last night, the Croatian company “Janaf”, NIS’s oil supplier, also made a statement. If the sanctions take effect, it would lose a large portion of its revenue.
“Janaf has obtained the license necessary to continue executing the Crude Oil Transportation Agreement signed with NIS until October 1, 2025, and in the coming days, through its American attorney and with the support of the Government of Croatia, it will reach out to the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to request a license extension,” stated the Adriatic Oil Pipeline company (Janaf), as reported by Index.
The article has been updated.
