Key moments ahead of Serbia in January: Pancevo refinery, sanctions, oil reserves...

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said yesterday that the initial 85,000 tons of crude oil are expected to arrive in Serbia by January 15 at the latest, and that the Pancevo refinery could resume operations as early as January 17 or 18, while the production of oil derivatives would start on January 25 or 26.

Recommended

After a meeting of the Council for National Security, Vucic made a clear appeal to the managements of Gazprom, NIS, and to Hungary, urging them to conclude the acquisition agreement as soon as possible, so that Serbia could exit the US sanctions regime.

Key dates and what follows

The president stated that crude oil payment is planned to be made as soon as today, while delivery is expected between January 13 and 15. After that, the Pancevo refinery should start operating in the middle of the month, which paves the way for stable fuel production by the end of the month.

"It's important for us to preserve peace and energy stability. We expect the refinery to start operating on January 17 or 18, and the production of oil derivatives to begin on January 25 or 26," said Vucic.

The president stressed that sanctions against NIS continue to loom over Serbia, as well as that there are problems with sanctions affecting the Chinese company Linglong, which employs between 1,300 and 1,400 workers in Serbia.

"We will have to deal with that and we will succeed," said Vucic.

Full reserves, supply secured

Vucic recalled that Serbia is actively replenishing its reserves, stressing that thanks to previous decisions and new storage facilities, there is now additional security.

"There will be enough electricity, gas and oil, despite all the problems. For almost 90 days, not a single drop of oil arrived via JANAF (pipeline), and you didn't see a problem anywhere. This is how an organized country functions," said the president.

Message regarding global relations

Speaking about the international situation, Vucic assessed that there are effectively no longer any rules in the world, stressing that Serbia remains consistent in respecting the UN Charter and international law.

"Internal legal order cannot take precedence over international public legal order. These are our principles and we will not give up on them," said Vucic.

Finally, the president warned that Serbia must be ready for continued pressure and unilateral moves by major powers, citing the example of Cuba, which found itself in a difficult situation after oil deliveries from Venezuela got suspended.

(Telegraf.rs/Tanjug)