Serbia says Vucic has no "magic wand" against US sanctions

The management of Serbian oil company NIS, which is facing US sanctions, expressed hope that Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić would find a solution to lift the restrictions, but he has no "magic wand," said Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Djedović-Handanović, Vreme reports.

At a meeting at NIS on Friday, the company noted its hope that Vučić would find a solution "at a higher level," without presenting any plan for how to work in the coming months under sanctions. "You know, even the President of Serbia doesn't have a magic wand," the minister emphasized.

According to her, Vučić will meet with Gazprom Neft Chairman of the Management Board Aleksandr Dyukov and Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin in Belgrade on Monday to discuss the situation with NIS, which is subject to US sanctions due to its Russian ownership.

Gazprom Neft (under US sanctions since January) holds the largest stake in NIS, with 44.85%, while Gazprom holds 11.3%. Serbia holds a 29.87% stake. Gazprom Neft reduced its stake in NIS this year from 50%.

The US has delayed sanctions against NIS at least six times, but on October 9 the company announced that they had gone into effect.

On October 6, speaking about the fate of NIS, Vučić stated that Washington would only postpone sanctions against the Serbian company if it was nationalized, but he was unwilling to take that step. In the past, the president had considered buying out Russian shares in NIS for approximately €600 million.

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