BELGRADE, October 9. /TASS/. Croatia is ready to buy the participation interest in Serbia NIS hit by US sanctions because of Russian participation in the company, Economy Minister Ante Susnjar said.

"We give a hand and if this is a solution, we are ready to such an option also, in order to secure business continuity of [the oil pipeline operator] JANAF and protect interests of the company closely linked to NIS during 40 years," the minister said on the air with HRT television.

In early January 2025, the US Department of the Treasury introduced sanctions against Russian oil producer Gazprom Neft, its CEO Alexander Dyukov, and against Serbian NIS. The company repeatedly received postponements on sanctions from the US since then. Restrictions came into force on October 9.