Djedovic Handanovic:We are seeking compromise on NIS,oil pipeline with Hungary due by end-2027

BELGRADE - Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic met with Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto in Belgrade on Friday.

Addressing a joint press conference at the Palace of Serbia, Djedovic Handanovic said the discussion - their second this week after a February 25 meeting in Washington - had demonstrated a willingness to achieve the best possible solution for Serbia's oil company NIS - which is under US sanctions due to its Russian-majority ownership - and for future cooperation in the energy sector.

She said works to build a Serbia-Hungary oil pipeline could begin in the autumn and that the goal was to complete them by end-2027.

Speaking about the NIS issue, the minister said technical teams were working day and night.

"Our discussions about a Serbia-Hungary inter-state agreement, which are chiefly related to a transaction concerning NIS (an acquisition of the Russian stake in the company by the Hungarian oil firm MOL), are underway. The negotiations are intensive, and also difficult and complex in some aspects, because all sides are trying to protect their interests as much as possible. We are protecting the interests of our citizens, since NIS is exceptionally important for our economy, businesses and for supplying oil derivatives to our citizens," Djedovic Handanovic said.

She noted that the objective was to reach a compromise that also included the operations of Serbia's Pancevo oil refinery, as well as to create favourable conditions for Serbia to acquire an additional 5 pct stake in NIS.

"We discussed the petrochemical plant, as well as other investments within NIS, with the aim of bolstering our energy ties," the minister said.

Djedovic Handanovic said Friday was a big day, since a Belgrade-Budapest high-speed rail line had been opened to freight traffic shortly after midnight.

"In the same way, we are working diligently on a joint project to build a new oil pipeline," she said, adding that the possibility of building a product pipeline as part of the effort would be discussed as well.

Szijjarto said talks on NIS were going well and that the Russian owner and MOL had reached an agreement.