Djedovic Handanovic, Russian ambassador discuss cooperation in energy sector

BELGRADE - Serbia's Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic met with Russian Ambassador to Belgrade Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko on Thursday to discuss bilateral cooperation in the energy sector.

Djedovic Handanovic noted that US sanctions on Serbia's Russian majority-owned oil company NIS had been delayed until July 29 and that discussions with the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Treasury Department needed to be continued to reach a sustainable solution for the long term, the Ministry of Mining and Energy said in a statement.

"Being taken off the sanctions list is the only solution for NIS that is sustainable for the long term. NIS is an important company for regional energy stability, and the most important company for keeping our market supplied with oil and oil derivatives. We will continue discussions to achieve more certainty," the minister said.

The parties also discussed a Serbia-Hungary oil pipeline, a strategic project that would provide Serbia with its first alternative crude oil supply route.

"The oil pipeline project has been defined and Serbia has already invested resources in it, and it is important that all three governments - the governments of Serbia, Hungary and Russia - be involved in further discussions and project development, which will be strategically important for Serbia in the decades to come," Djedovic Handanovic said.

Botsan-Kharchenko said lifting the sanctions on NIS was the only sustainable long-term solution for the company's development and that the activities of the Serbian side were very important in that regard.