BELGRADE, November 11. /TASS/. The Russian owners of Serbia's energy company NIS have notified the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of their readiness to transfer control of it to a third party, Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Djedovic-Handanovic said.

"The Russian owners of NIS have submitted a request to OFAC seeking an extension of their operating license based on negotiations with a third party. The request states that the Russian side is ready to transfer control and management of NIS to a third party. The Serbian government has officially supported this request. OFAC has already responded with some comments, and we hope it will present its position within a week. Time is running out, and a solution must be found," she wrote on her Instagram page (Instagram is banned in Russia due to its ownership by Meta, which has been designated as extremist).

In January 2025, the US Treasury Department placed Gazprom Neft, its CEO Alexander Dyukov, and Serbia’s NIS on its sanctions list. Following several delays, the restrictions officially took effect on October 9. At the time, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic stressed that he did not hold Russia responsible and expressed hope for a coordinated solution. He later noted that, as a result of the US measures, NIS effectively came under European Union restrictions as well.

The main production facilities of NIS are located in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary. The majority shareholders are Gazprom Neft (44.85%), Serbia (29.87%), and St. Petersburg-based JSC Intelligence controlled by Gazprom Capital (11.3%).