Lavrov: NIS cannot be nationalized

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that NIS could not be subject to nationalization under any circumstance.

However, he added, a solution is being sought in cooperation with the Serbian authorities for the situation that arose after the introduction of US sanctions on the company.

- The agreement on the establishment of the company states that NIS is not subject to nationalization under any circumstance - Lavrov said.

According to Russian media, Lavrov said that Russia was in constant contact with Serbia and that it had requested urgent consultations regarding the situation with sanctions against NIS.

- We are in contact with our Serbian friends, we have requested urgent consultations. We hope to receive an answer as soon as possible - Lavrov said.

He assessed that the situation also "requires courageous decisions from a legal point of view".

- When they tell you: 'You have an agreement with someone that does not concern us, but which concerns our desire to punish your partner, but sorry, it will also affect you directly and it will be very painful'... the decision is up to the Serbian leadership - he added.

Regarding the US demand to Serbia that no Russian capital remain in NIS, Lavrov said that it was "a rather impudent act, a trademark of the outgoing administration", adding that the US and the EU were twisting Serbia's hands, asking it to betray Russia.

- They are twisting Serbia's hands. And when President (of Serbia Aleksandar) Vucic says: 'We will not deviate from the course of joining the European Union', for many years, and all these years, the answer he hears is: 'Yes, we are waiting for you here, but for that you must first recognize the independence of Kosovo', that is, the Serbian people, the Serbian president are called upon to humiliate themselves. And, secondly, 'you must of course join all the sanctions of the European Union against the Russian Federation'. That is, at the same time as calling for self-humiliation, they are demanding that an ally be betrayed - said the Russian minister.

He assessed that the administration of current US President Joseph Biden wanted to do harm to both Serbia and the administration of newly elected US President Donald Trump with new sanctions against Russia in the energy sector.

Lavrov also said that Moscow was interested in ensuring that relations between Russia and Serbia were "based exclusively on the interests of the peoples and the states."