Vucic: U.S. imposes sanctions on NIS, demands complete withdrawal of Russian interests from the company

President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, confirmed that the U.S. has imposed sanctions on Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS), the severest sanctions on a company in Serbia, stating that a complete withdrawal of Russian interests from the company is demanded. He declared that national interests would be protected at all costs.

"These are the harshest sanctions affecting a company in Serbia. A complete withdrawal of Russian interests from 'NIS Novi Sad' j.s.c is required. From what we have seen, the term used is 'remove', not 'reduce'. They do not allow even 49 percent or less of the share to be Russian capital, but a complete exit of Russian capital," Vucic explained.

He mentioned that NIS would be able to continue its operations, but with a plan for ownership transformation that must start immediately and must be approved by the United States.

"For all operations, we have 45 days, ending on February 25. By then, we need to finalize everything with Russia; we have time until March 12 to possibly extend financial transactions, but even that must be approved by the U.S. Department of Treasury. After this period, the sanctions will fully take effect," the President of Serbia noted.

In his public address, Vucic emphasized that Serbia did nothing to contribute to the imposition of sanctions on NIS.

"We have not interfered in any way in the conflicts of the great powers, we have kept away from everything, stepped on no one's shadow. However, we are faced with serious and severe sanctions," the President of Serbia highlighted, adding that he did not want to hide anything from the citizens, which is why he went public with all the information he received about the possibility of sanctions being imposed.

He added that many things are still unclear for Serbia, and he will discuss this with American officials he will meet tomorrow in Belgrade.

"What is not seen in the statement from the U.S. Treasury Department is the following. These are very severe sanctions that have two legal bases, one from the decision of the Barack Obama administration in 2014 and the other from the decision of the Joseph Biden administration in 2021. This was done to make it impossible to avoid sanctions," the President of Serbia pointed out.

He reminded that the Government of Serbia sold NIS to Russian Gazprom Neft in 2008.

"President of Serbia Boris Tadic, Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica made the decision to hand over one of the most significant public enterprises to Gazprom for an appropriate compensation. Over the past 16 years, NIS has significantly contributed to the budget as well as numerous developmental projects in Serbia," Vucic clarified.

He emphasized that the U.S., just a few days before the change of government in that country, imposed sanctions on NIS.

"Neither is Serbia intended, at least that's what they say, to be a target for the Americans, nor is it just NIS, but it is a comprehensive strike on Russian companies that not only own oil pipelines, refineries but also all associated companies are targets of these sanctions," said the President.

He added that according to the information he has, the United Kingdom will join the U.S. sanctions by Monday at the latest, along with the majority of European countries.

"European companies will not want to risk because the sanctions are with very severe effects against those who would break them," Vucic stated.

He pointed out that Serbia is not an enemy country to Russia and does not want a hostile takeover of enterprises. He announced upcoming talks with the Russian president, representatives from China, and representatives from the U.S.

He advised that the citizens of Serbia should not react in any way, just as the government will not react, in a panicky manner.

"We will respond responsibly, seriously, and diligently, and we will not rush into making wrong decisions anywhere. We will ask the upcoming U.S. administration to reconsider this decision once more and see if we can get any relieving decisions," Vucic declared.

He emphasized that Serbia will protect national interests at all costs.

He assured that there will be no shortages.

"With your help, we will overcome this time as well, and Serbia will continue to be the fastest-growing economy in 2025," Vucic concluded.