Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Sunday said he wanted to avoid the "confiscation" of Russian shares in Serbian oil company NIS "at all costs", as his country seeks an exit from crippling US sanctions.
"I want us to avoid at all costs confiscation, nationalisation or seizure of property... We do not want to take anything from anyone," Vucic said during an emergency government meeting convened after Washington's latest announcement.
"I want us to exhaust all possibilities before committing to a takeover process or anything else," he said.
"We need to have a solution by next Sunday," he added, vowing the response would be "decisive".
Sanctions hit Serbia hard
Washington sanctioned the Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS), which is majority-Russian-owned, as part of its crackdown on Russia's energy sector after Moscow attacked Ukraine in 2022.
Serbia had negotiated several postponements to the sanctions, but the US Treasury Department began applying them on October 9, and American authorities have now told Serbia that all Russian shareholders must exit the company for the sanctions to be lifted.
This creates a tricky situation for Serbia, a candidate for European Union membership and one of the few European countries not to have imposed sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
“Negotiations are ongoing”
NIS is 45 percent owned by Gazprom Neft, which has been targeted by US sanctions. Its parent company, Gazprom, transferred its 11.3 percent stake in NIS in September to another Russian firm, Intelligence.
The Serbian state holds nearly 30 percent of NIS, with the rest owned by minority shareholders.
Vucic said negotiations between the Russian stakeholders and their "Asian and European partners" regarding a potential sale of NIS shares were ongoing, but did not name specific companies.
Since the imposition of sanctions, NIS has been unable to procure supplies. According to company representatives, its crude reserves will run out after November 25.
