Vucic says he has 'no good news' about US sanctions against NIS

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said he had "not much good news" regarding US sanctions against the Russian-Serbian company Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS).

Vucic met with US Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jose Fernandez.

“Of course, I don’t have much good news for the citizens of Serbia, but Serbia will maintain its stability and energy security,” he wrote on his Instagram account (owned by Meta, which is considered extremist and banned in Russia).

Vucic called their conversation "open, honest and easy," stressing that in addition to other issues of bilateral cooperation, they discussed sanctions in the energy sector.

The Serbian president promised to reveal details later.

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 is engaged in exploration and production outside Serbia - in Romania and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

NIS is 50% owned by Gazprom Neft, with Gazprom holding another 6%. Serbia holds about 30% of the shares.

In December, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said Washington could soon impose sanctions on NIS, and Belgrade was planning to discuss buying out part of its stake with Moscow.

Later that month, the Serbian leader said he had spoken by phone with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov about possible U.S. sanctions. The two sides agreed to organize a meeting between experts from both countries after official information about sanctions appeared, Vucic said in a statement.

Later, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin said that the US plans to impose sanctions against NIS are connected with an attempt to pressure Serbia to impose restrictions on Russia.

Read RBC on Telegram .