Vucic announced his readiness to buy out Gazprom's stake in NIS due to sanctions.

Serbia may buy out Gazprom and Gazprom Neft's stakes in NIS for approximately €600 million if the US imposes sanctions , he said.Vučić previously called Washington's decision "geopolitical." Moscow considers the West's restrictions illegal.Aleksandar Vucic

Belgrade is prepared to buy out the stake of Russia's Gazprom Neft and Gazprom in the company Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS) if US sanctions are imposed, Serbian leader Aleksandar Vučić said on RTS.

"We now have the money to buy out NIS. If the company's estimated value is €1 billion, then we're talking about €600 million to buy out Gazprom and Gazprom Neft's stakes <...>. And I have a question for the Americans. Do you want us to buy them, and they'll immediately get €500, 600, or 700 million?" Vučić said ( quoted by Informer).

According to him, Serbia will receive the US sanctions document against NIS on January 10 or 13. The country has 85 days' worth of diesel and gasoline reserves, so no oil supply crisis is expected, the Serbian leader said. He also plans to discuss imports via the Adriatic Pipeline with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković.

Vučić also added that Belgrade is unaware whether Washington will maintain restrictions against NIS if Gazprom's stake is reduced completely or only to a majority stake. He said the US wants to "turn Serbia in its favor," not "punish it."

NIS is the largest energy company in the Balkans, engaged in the exploration, production, and refining of oil and natural gas. It owns an oil refinery in Pancevo, near Belgrade, and a network of over 400 gas stations. It also conducts exploration and production outside Serbia, in Romania and Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to N1Info, Gazprom Neft owns 50% of NIS, Serbia owns 29.87%, and Gazprom owns 6.15%.

The day before, Vučić announced that US sanctions against NIS could come into effect as early as March 15, which would pose serious challenges for Serbia's oil refining and petrochemical industries. He plans to travel to Washington in January for talks with US President-elect Donald Trump, after which he will discuss the situation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Vučić announced the US and UK's intention to impose the sanctions in mid-December, calling the decision "geopolitical."

The Serbian president also called Moscow a reliable partner, and the forced seizure of Gazprom's controlling stake an extreme scenario supported by more than half of the government.

Moscow considers Western sanctions illegal and demands their lifting. Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov told TASS that the Putin-Vučić meeting was being coordinated "as quickly as possible."

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