O'Brien: Russia's stake in Serbia's Oil Industry should be zero

(Patria) - The operations of Serbia's Oil Industry (NIS), which is part of the new package of US sanctions against the Russian energy sector, are acceptable only if the share of Russian ownership in it is zero, said yesterday the Assistant US Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs James O'Brien.

The US Department of the Treasury announced on Friday that it will sanction more than 200 entities operating in the Russian energy sector, including NIS.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić stated that Serbia found itself "under heavy sanctions", but that it did not cause them in any way.

Vučić asserted that America does not intend for Serbia to be a target, nor just NIS, but rather that it is a comprehensive strike against Russian companies and all related companies, including NIS.

In 2008, the Serbian government sold NIS to Russia's Gazprom Neft, and according to data from the Central Securities Registry, Gazprom Neft and Gazprom own 56.15 percent, while 29.87 percent is owned by Serbia.

- Washington's only condition is that there is no outflow of money from NIS to Russia. We do not want Russia to manage this key company in Serbia.

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America imposed sanctions on Serbia's Oil Industry (NIS)

(Patria) - On the website of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) within the US Department of the Treasury, the Oil Industry of Serbia was also found on the expanded list of sanctioned individuals and companies, reported Danas.rs. The authorities in Belgrade on

Therefore, the only way for the risk to be zero is for the share of Russian ownership to be - zero. That is the position with which we enter this conversation - O'Brien told RTS yesterday.

He assessed that Serbia will follow a path that will ultimately result in constructive and strong ownership of NIS, which benefits Serbia, and that this should be the final outcome.

Commenting on the introduction of Washington's sanctions, O'Brian said that the US is not doing this to Serbia, but that they have imposed sanctions on more than 300 Russian companies, and that some relate to tankers carrying Russian oil, as well as companies that benefit from Russia's global energy trade.

- Russia bought NIS for a very small sum and is now extracting more money from Serbia than it can spend in Ukraine. We would like this flow to stop, to be halted, and we have promised the Serbian government that we will work to ensure that there is no interruption in Serbia's oil supply - stated O'Brien.

He emphasized that Serbia is also expected to remove Russian capital, and added that the US believes that Serbia will benefit from this over time and that consumers will not suffer.

The American official also pointed out that the relationship between the US and Serbia has been difficult at times over the decade, but that the US wants to show that good cooperation is possible regardless of the problem, because that is what true partners do.