US mulls sanctions against Serbian oil firm majority owned by Russians, president says

BELGRADE (Reuters) – The United States will in the coming days introduce financial sanctions against Serbia’s oil company NIS, which is majority owned by Russia’s Gazprom (MCX:GAZP) Neft and Gazprom, President Aleksandar Vucic said on Friday.

“We got confirmation that in the next few days, the U.S. will introduce sanctions against NIS because of Russian ownership,” Vucic told Informer TV.

He said the UK and European Union would likely follow the U.S. in introducing sanctions, which will mean that oil shipments through a pipeline from Croatia are halted.

“We are still waiting to get an official paper with details,” Vucic said.

The U.S. Treasury Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Serbia has repeatedly condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in the United Nations and other international forums, but it has resisted Western pressure to impose sanctions.

The Balkan country is dependent on Russian gas. Russia’s Gazprom Neft and Gazprom own 50% and 6.15% of NIS, respectively. The government owns 29.87% while small shareholders hold the remaining shares.

“We will have to look if there is a possibility to reduce Russian ownership below 50% and to talk with Russian partners about it,” Vucic said.