There is no "business as usual" with Russia, the US State Department said when asked by Radio Free Europe about the statement by the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, who said that US sanctions against the Serbian Oil Industry, NIS, are "serious and serious".
The US Treasury said it has sanctioned Russia-based state-owned Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas.
The NIS company was sanctioned because of the so-called "secondary risk", that is, because of the connection with the Russian Gazprom.
The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, announced in a press conference on January 10, after this publication by the US Department of the Treasury, that it is a matter of "heavy and serious sanctions" and that "the complete removal of Russia from the ownership of NIS" is required -its".
"They do not allow the possibility of 49 percent or less Russian capital," President Vucic said.
DASH told REL that the United States "remains committed to disrupting Russia's revenue generation and the procurement and financial networks that Moscow uses to support its war against Ukraine."
"We will continue to take all appropriate actions to advance accountability for those who enable or profit from Russia's illegal war and prevent Putin from using energy as a tool of repression," the State Department said in a response. .
The US department added that "the US will continue to work with partners and allies around the world to ensure the security and diversity of energy supplies."
NIS is the only company in Serbia engaged in exploration, production and processing of oil and natural gas production.
Gazprom Neft has shares in NIS, since 2022. Its parent company Gazprom also has shares.
According to NIS data, the Gazprom Neft company today owns 50 percent of the NIS share capital, the Republic of Serbia owns 29.87 percent of the shares, while the Gazprom company owns 6.15 percent of the shares.
The rest belongs to citizens, employees, former employees and other smaller shareholders.
Gazprom Neft has been under European and US sanctions since 2014, due to Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, and the company has been barred from accessing EU and US markets.
NIS, on the other hand, owns more than 400 gas stations in Serbia and in the countries of the region: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania and Bulgaria. /REL/ (A2 Televizion)