Lavrov: Nationalization of NIS possible, but with Russia’s consent

Negotiations on the NIS company are underway, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a roundtable for ambassadors in Moscow. As he said, he knows that the Serbian leadership has addressed the US, noting that “the Americans, unfortunately, with their actions, unilateral sanctions, and abuse of the dollar are undermining the globalization that they have been building for decades and recommending to everyone as the main treasure of humanity.”

Speaking about the fate of NIS, he reminded that the intergovernmental agreement between Serbia and Russia stated that no nationalization could occur without mutual consent.

- Under what conditions can an agreement be reached on nationalization or some other form of solution to this problem? Perhaps the solution lies in finding a way for NIS to continue operating, regardless of the possibilities that the US has to punish the company. I don’t know, that’s what the Minister of Energy and the relevant economic operators, as well as companies in your neighboring countries that have cooperated with NIS, are dealing with. But I have no doubt that fairness should always be the criterion. Otherwise, we are creating precedents for many other countries, and no one needs that - Lavrov said.

Naftna industrija Srbije (NIS) has been under US sanctions since October 9, and the US requires that there be no Russian ownership in the company. On December 2, NIS announced that the Pancevo Oil Refinery had begun to shut down its facilities due to a shortage of crude oil for processing, which arose as a result of sanctions imposed on NIS by the US Treasury Department. It was emphasized that NIS continued to supply the domestic market with oil products without interruption, thanks to previously secured supplies.