The U.S. Department of the Treasury has, for the fifth time, postponed the implementation of sanctions on the Serbian Oil Industry (NIS), this time for 30 days, announced Serbia’s Minister of Mining and Energy, Dubravka Đedović Handanović.
She explained that securing a longer delay was not possible due to the complex global politics and negotiations among world powers. So far, Serbia has managed to avoid becoming collateral damage through these postponements, but the situation remains uncertain.
The minister emphasized that the postponements were achieved through tough diplomatic efforts by government members and the Serbian president, marking the fifth delay secured.
Despite the challenging conditions under which NIS operates, the Ministry assured that there will be no shortages of oil.
To reduce business uncertainty, Serbia recently appointed new members to the NIS Board of Directors, including, for the first time, a vice president appointed by the Serbian government.
The priority is to maintain stable supply of petroleum products, with the ultimate goal of removing NIS from the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions list, which depends heavily on progress in U.S.-Russia dialogue.
Minister Đedović Handanović also expressed gratitude to the Hungarian government for its support of NIS.
