Busatlija: Hungarian Mol is the only way out for NIS

Hungarian Mol could manage Naftna industrija Srbije (NIS), which both the Americans and the Russians would probably agree with.

However, this cannot be achieved only on the basis of our “brotherhood” with the Hungarians, but exclusively on a political and professional level. There is no one in the world who can do it all alone, because teamwork is needed, development and investment expert Mahmud Busatlija told Biznis.rs.

– The Americans did not limit the Hungarians. They left them the opportunity to trade in Russian oil and gas. I believe that both Russia and America would accept that Mol manages NIS without changing the ownership structure of Naftna industrija Srbije. This could be done, but without professionals it is difficult to even think about it – says Busatlija regarding the agreement between Budapest and Washington on exempting Hungary from the ban on buying Russian oil and gas.

US President Donald Trump on Friday granted Hungary a one-year exemption from US sanctions on its purchases of Russian oil and gas, the White House confirmed on Friday, after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met with Trump in Washington.

Concession as relief

For months, Trump has sharply criticized European countries for continuing to buy Russian energy, claiming that “this helps fuel the Kremlin’s war machine” and prolong the war in Ukraine, which he is trying to end, CNN reports.

For Orban, the concession is a huge relief, as it exempts Hungary from the severe economic shock that US sanctions on two Russian oil companies, Lukoil and Rosneft, threatened to cause.

Before the sanctions were imposed, Orban reportedly warned Trump that cutting off Russian energy would “bring the Hungarian economy to its knees.”

The exemption for Hungary, however, has raised doubts about the consistency of US sanctions policy.

Analysts warn that giving in to allies could encourage other countries to try to circumvent US measures, thereby reducing their effect and weakening the economic strategy of pressure on Moscow.

– Hungary’s exemption should not be a surprise to anyone who follows and knows the situation between Russia and America. Trump has a political approach based on his experiences as a rich man, not a politician. He approaches everything in a cowboy-like way and initially managed to quarrel with the whole world. When he established relatively good relations with Putin, who came to US territory to discuss Ukraine, Europe spoiled it to some extent with its anti-Russian stance – said Busatlija.

The fight for energy

According to Busatlija, Putin strained relations and canceled his appearance at the Budapest summit because it is not suitable for Russia to the end of the war on the current front line, since it has not occupied the entire territory that it has already annexed to Russia.

Trump reacted to this by imposing sanctions on Russian oil companies.

– Trump has a relationship with Hungary that is also satisfactory to the Russians, because the economic interests of Russia and Hungary in energy are significant. It could have been expected that the calming of relations between America and Russia would begin, and the simplest thing would have been for Hungary to continue supplying oil and gas from Russia. This allowed Trump to improve relations with Russia by postponing the ban on Hungary, probably planning to meet with Putin in Hungary at some point, and during that time Russia would occupy the aforementioned territories in Ukraine – Busatlija pointed out.

In an analysis published before the meeting in Washington, the Atlantic Council warned that “the White House should be clear-eyed about the fact that, despite Trump’s chumminess with Orban, he has been the roadblock to the action the United States is demanding from Europe.”

Serbia’s disastrous delay

American analysts believe that Orban is hoping that Trump could meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest, an idea that was discussed last month. On Friday, Trump confirmed that his team was “considering this possibility.”

Busatlija agreed with this assessment, stating that Moscow and Washington would come to an agreement, sooner or later. He points out that Hungary is probably the only way out for NIS, which came under US sanctions on October 9, due to the majority Russian ownership (51%) in the company, but that Serbia has not reacted in a timely manner to find a sustainable solution.

– Since the end of last year, we have been treating America’s positions as if we do not take them seriously. We have had sanctions on NIS postponed for a month several times, and each time we waited until the 28th day of the deadline to send a letter to the Americans and request an extension. We could have asked them back in January if they would be satisfied if they themselves determined the company that would manage NIS, without taking over ownership. We did not do that, but waited for something to happen. The only way out is to find a way that will satisfy both the Americans and the Russians, and that way out is Hungary – concluded Busatlija.

NIS a.d. Novi Sad

Naftna industrija Srbije

NIS

Mol

Lukoil

Rosneft

Mahmud Bušatlija

sanctions

energy