Discussions regarding NIS held with US representatives: Minister of Foreign Affairs speaks afterwards

Minister of Foreign Affairs Marko Djuric said today that the citizens of Serbia have no reason to worry about the supply of energy to the market, while when it comes to the future of Petroleum Industry of Serbian, NIS, he assessed that the situation is quite complicated and that Serbia is still waiting for certain information.

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Speaking about the meeting held at the Presidency of Serbia on Sunday, when President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic spoke with teams in charge of energy stability and security of the country regarding the situation around NIS, Marko Djuric stated that they had discussions with the American side, as well as with other parties, until late last night, stressing that it remains to be seen how things will develop.

"We expect some things to happen even today. We had talks with the American side, with other parties, until very late last night, so it remains to be seen how things will develop. What is clear and unambiguous is that Serbia has prepared well for this crisis, therefore, in terms of supplies, it has seriously approached this problem, wanting to preserve relations with all key actors and acting fairly and transparently," Djuric told RTS.

The head of Serbian diplomacy pointed out that Serbia will continue to behave fairly and transparently, as well as that the public will be transparently informed as new details about NIS become available.

"For now, we are still waiting for certain new information about possible transactions and possible next steps," he added.

Marko Djuric also stated that is "heavy silence" as the meetings are taking place, and that the talks are not simple at all, stressing that they are happening at a sensitive geopolitical moment.

Asked if he believed in the green light from the American administration for NIS to continue working, he pointed out that the US had given the green light over the previous nine months, but that it has its own interests which it is pushing in Europe, one of which is to separate Europe from Russia as much as possible energy-wise.

"There are also some other geopolitical things and factors at play. I would not speak from the perspective of what is their (US) interest. Our interest is unequivocally that NIS continues to function as one of the largest companies in the region. Successfully, as it has done until now. And I have no doubt that we will ensure that in the coming months. We have more difficult discussions on this topic ahead of us and we cannot provide more details here," said Djuric.

(Telegraf.rs/Tanjug)