Vučić said he would discuss the issue of US sanctions against NIS with Putin.

Following a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić announced that they had agreed to jointly address the issue of US sanctions against the Oil Industry of Serbia (NIS).

"The third issue was sanctions against NIS. We agreed to work together to save this important company and its operations. We don't want to steal anything from anyone and we won't carry out any nationalization. We hope that the major players will be able to reach an agreement on this issue," he said ( quoted by TASS ).

At the end of August, the US postponed the imposition of sanctions against NIS until September 26, 2025. This is the sixth postponement. Previously, as the Financial Times noted, they were related to the stakes of Russian companies in NIS: Gazprom Neft owns 44.85%, Gazprom owns 11.3%, and Serbia owns 29.87%.

The Republic's Minister of Mining and Energy, Dubravka Djedović-Handanović, noted that the goal is to remove NIS from the sanctions list of the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). She expressed hope that continued high-level negotiations between the US and Russia will facilitate progress toward lifting US sanctions.

NIS itself stated that the extension of the sanctions-free regime allows the company to maintain its business and execute contracts and transactions. It also retains the ability to dispose of or transfer debt or equity.

NIS is the largest energy company in the Balkans. It is engaged in hydrocarbon exploration and production outside Serbia—in Romania and Bosnia and Herzegovina—as well as oil and natural gas refining. It owns an oil refinery in Pancevo, near Belgrade, and a network of over 400 petrol stations. Its largest shareholders are Gazprom Neft and Gazprom (56.15%), as well as Serbia (29.87%).

Sanctions against NIS were imposed in early January 2025, when the US demanded that Serbia completely divest Russian participation in the company. Vučić stated that Belgrade was prepared to buy out the Russian stake, but noted that the authorities would not take any action without Moscow's approval.

Russian Ambassador to Serbia Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko stated that US sanctions against NIS were imposed during a period of mass protests in Serbia, which he believes is a deliberate move by the US. He noted that the company's disruption could lead to higher fuel prices and supply disruptions, which could exacerbate social unrest.

Putin and Vučić met in Beijing on September 2. "We are currently the only European country that has not imposed any sanctions against the Russian Federation, and we will, of course, maintain our neutrality in the future," the Serbian leader said, commenting on the meeting's outcome.

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