Serbia and Russians agree on offer to Americans regarding NIS - Expert explains details

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The editor of the Energija Balkana portal, Jelica Putnikovic, said today that she believes Serbia and the Russians have agreed on some type of offer for the Americans with the goal of exempting Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS) from US sanctions, because "it is already known what the Americans will and will not accept".

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"We have seen in the example of Lukoil that they do not accept ownership where it is suspected that the Russian side is still in the background. This is about a company that wanted to buy all the foreign assets in Lukoil. Gazprom and Gazprom Neft are state owned companies, there is some private ownership, but they are state companies and basically I think that they are also taken care of by the Kremlin, so I believe that some scenario has been agreed for which approval should be obtained," she told Prva TV.

Putnikovic stressed that President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic would not come out with an announcement of something he does not believe in, at least partially.

President Vucic stated earlier that he expects that today or tomorrow, together with the Russians and others whom the Russian side will find, a letter will be sent to OFAC asking for exemption of NIS from US sanctions.

She assessed that it is necessary to find a solution for NIS because "people have became more afraid, especially after the story with Lukoil."

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Entrepreneur and honorary president of the Union of Employers of Serbia, Nebojsa Atanackovic, stated that the offer that will follow to the US is something that could have been done much earlier.

"Again, postponements that we have had several times already - I am not sure that in the changed circumstances, that will bring about anything new. First, from the beginning we expected that it would be enough only for the Russians to reduce their participation in NIS (ownership), that is, for them not to be the absolute majority owner, but it is obvious that this is not enough and that the Americans demand that there should be no Russian ownership in NIS," he told TV Prva.

He added that from the very beginning we found ourselves between the interests of two major world powers and that we do not have a particular influence there.

"Although, on the other hand, if the American side wanted to help us in this situation, which is really very difficult for us, they could implement a solution that is far better and which was given to Hungary through a one-year delay. It's interesting that Hungary is still allowed to buy, that is, to be supplied with Russian oil, which has not been the case with us for a few years," he said.

Atanackovic pointed out that we are not buying Russian oil, we are only asking that NIS, as part of the property of the Russian state, i.e. a state company, can continue to work.

(Telegraf Biznis/Tanjug)