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US postpones imposition of sanctions against Serbian NIS at least until October 8 — TV

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic stated that Belgrade was becoming collateral damage in the US-Russia standoff and warned that the cost for Serbia would be extremely high

BELGRADE, September 27. /TASS/. The United States once again postponed the imposition of sanctions against Serbia's largest energy company NIS until October 8-9 following talks with President Aleksandar Vucic, the Radio and Television of Serbia reported.

After talks with the president of the Balkan republic, the US postponed the imposition of sanctions against NIS for eight days, until October 8-9, according to the report. The previous decision suggested that sanctions would be supposed to take effect on Wednesday, October 1.

Vucic previously stated that US sanctions against NIS would take effect on October 1, which, he said, would create serious difficulties for the country's economy and energy sector. He emphasized that Belgrade was becoming collateral damage in the US-Russia standoff and warned that the cost for Serbia would be extremely high.

NIS is one of the largest vertically integrated energy systems in Southeastern Europe. Its majority shareholders are Gazprom Neft (44.85% of shares), Gazprom (11.3%), and Serbia (29.87%). On January 10, the US Treasury Department added Gazprom Neft, its CEO Alexander Dyukov, and more than 20 subsidiaries, including NIS, to the sanctions list. Since then, NIS has received six 90-day sanctions waivers from the US, but in mid-September, Vucic expressed concerns that Washington would not agree to another extension beyond September 26.