US demands Serbia reduce Gazprom's share in NIS to zero

Russia's share in Serbia's NIS should be reduced to zero, US sanctions coordinator said. Vucic spoke of his readiness to buy it for €600 million. Gazpromneft currently owns 50% of the shares, Serbia owns 29.87%, and Gazprom owns 6.15%

The only way to avoid the risks of the strategic partnership between Belgrade and Washington is to reduce the share of Russian Gazprom and Gazprom Neft in the company Oil Industry of Serbia (NIS) to zero, US sanctions coordinator James O'Brien said on Radio Television of Serbia (RTS).

"Russia bought a stake in NIS for a very small amount and is now taking more money out of Serbia than it can spend in Ukraine . We would like this flow of resources to stop, to be suspended, and we have promised the Serbian government that we will work to ensure that there are no interruptions in oil supplies to Serbia," he said.

According to O'Brien, the US does not want Moscow to control this key company in Serbia. "The only way to reduce the risks to zero is for the Russian shareholding to be zero. That is the position from which we enter this [strategic] dialogue [with Belgrade]," the US sanctions coordinator specified.

The US has "done similar things to Russian companies in other countries - the Netherlands, Switzerland, Turkey," and if Serbia fully complies with sanctions , it will divest itself of Gazprom, O'Brien said. "We believe Serbia will benefit from this over time and that consumers will not be harmed," he concluded.

On January 10, Washington imposed the “most significant” sanctions ever against Russia’s energy sector. In particular, the restrictions affected oil producers Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegaz, oilfield services companies, traders selling Russian oil, more than 180 tankers, and NIS.

NIS is the largest energy company in the Balkans, which is engaged in exploration, production and processing of oil and natural gas, owns an oil refinery in the city of Pancevo near Belgrade and a network of more than 400 petrol stations. It carries out exploration and production outside Serbia - in Romania and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Gazprom Neft owns 50% of NIS shares, Serbia - 29.87%, Gazprom - 6.15%.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has stated his readiness to buy out Russian shares in NIS for approximately €600 million. Belgrade does not know whether Washington will maintain restrictions against this company in the event of a complete reduction of Gazprom's share or only a majority stake, he noted.

Vucic announced the US and UK's plans to impose sanctions in mid-December, calling the decision geopolitical. This month, he plans to discuss the situation with US President-elect Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto noted that the latest US sanctions against Moscow create serious problems for Central Europe in the energy sector and will lead to higher prices.

RUSSIA considers Western sanctions illegal and insists on their lifting. The Russian Foreign Ministry promised that Washington's new restrictions "will not go unanswered."

Read RBC on TELEGRAM .