Serbia GIVES PERMISSION to shut down Pancevo refinery!

Photo: Tanjug/Zoran Zestic

President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic said today after a meeting with the teams in charge of the country's energy stability and security, that Serbia has not received a positive response from the United States that would have extended a license enabling Petroleum Industry of Serbia, NIS, to continue working - and that as a consequence, the state has given the permission to shut down the Pancevo refinery.

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The minister of mining will today inform NIS today that there is no indication that the US will grant the license, which will result in the refinery shutting down, said Vucic.

"Citizens of Serbia, we do not have good news for you regarding progress on the issue of NIS, we will provide some important information about the measures and what the state of Serbia is undertaking and what we will carry out in the coming period. We, respected citizens of Serbia, expected to receive a license from the US to continue supplying oil to our Pancevo refinery - let's not go into whether they make separate decisions, then combine them or make them at the same time - we did not receive a positive decision from the US," Vucic told a news conference held on Tuesday in the Presidency of Serbia in Belgrade.

The president added that he is disappointed as well as surprised, because he "cannot see what they (the US) get out of this."

"I don't even understand what they were doing, I'm making an effort to rationalize things in life and do it without emotions, even though when you lead a country and when you love your country, you can't do it without emotions - I tried to put myself in their shoes and analyze what exactly they were doing, and I have to admit that I don't fully understand," said Vucic.

He added that he will "never exactly understand how they handled this case."

"But that's their business. We have to accept it as fact. It's unquestionable, too, that the Russians don't want to sell (their stake in NIS). There's no doubt. It's not about money at all, it's about politics. And that's logical, that's their right. They are the owners," the president of Serbia said, and added:

"That we have problems because of that, is another issue. Just like the Americans, they (the Russians) are not interested in much else except for their own geopolitical interests. Again, it's not about any big money. For now, only Serbia is suffering. We'll see how things develop."

Telegraf.rs/Tanjug)