The United States should introduce complete from January sanctions against the Oil Industry of Serbia, due to Russian ownership, said Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić. The British will also join the sanctions.
Economist Saša Đogović tells "Vreme" that this is an ideal opportunity to change ownership in the company.
"The state can acquire majority ownership of NIS shares alone or with another partner." It will probably be negotiated with the Russian partner on the political level," says Đogović.
NIS has been in Russian hands since 51 percent of the company was sold to Gazprom Neft in 2008. It was said at the time that it was not only a chance for NIS, but also a kind of purchase of Russian support after the declaration of Kosovo's independence.
A clear signal from the West
The interlocutor of "Vremen" adds that it is necessary to change the ownership structure of NIS in order to get access to oil.
"How the Government of the Republic of Serbia will do this will be the subject of discussions with Russian partners." Obviously, this is a clear signal from the West to Serbia that it has the opportunity to make a complete energy diversion from the Russians. Through gas diversification, which is already being done," says Đogović.
Even now, Serbia does not import oil from the Russian Federation, he explains - it cannot be imported via the Adriatic Pipeline (Janaf).
"Without Serbia's majority ownership share, I don't see how NIS could continue to operate normally and obtain capital on the international financial market," adds Đogović.
"It should also supply the market of the region with oil derivatives, there is also a Pancevac refinery and it will not have raw materials for processing, therefore, it is necessary to immediately start negotiations with Russian partners and find a solution for which Brussels and Washington would give the green light" , says Đogović.
A return to bottled gas?
The president announced that "severe consequences" are expected due to the announced sanctions.
Many people are reminded of scenes from the nineties, when gasoline was sold and poured from two-liter bottles, but Đogović believes that the deal could be made in the other direction as well.
"There is the government and the president who, because of the economy and population in the country, have to find a solution that will be acceptable to all parties." One must be proactive. "Maybe they think that they are relying on Trump's coming to power, to be passive and wait for something to happen, but that is not good," says Đogović.
According to our interlocutor, this is an ideal opportunity for Serbia, if it is strategically oriented towards the West and the EU, to take possession of NIS, which, he reminds, was sold to a Russian partner at an extremely low price.
"I would go for a harder variant, that both the formal and essential ownership of NIS be returned to Serbia, and not only formally in order to in some way respect the Western factor, and he turned a blind eye again," says Đogović.
