Djedovic Handanovic: Deadline for completion of NIS talks tight

BELGRADE - Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic said on Tuesday talks on MOL's acquisition of a Russian majority stake in the Serbian oil company NIS were complex as "everyone is defending their own interests", and noted that a deal between the Russian side and the Hungarian oil firm that would subsequently be approved by the US administration was the most important thing.

Since October 9, 2025, NIS has been under US sanctions due to its Russian-majority ownership.

An extended deadline for the completion of the talks, set by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and an operating licence issued to NIS by the same authority expire on the same day - June 16.

Djedovic Handanovic noted that finding a long-term solution for NIS was crucial but that little time remained to complete the talks.

"The identical deadlines are definitely a bigger risk, if I may put it that way, as the operating licence also expires on June 16. On the other hand, the deadline for completing the talks is tight. It remains to be seen (what the outcome will be). The most important thing is that the Russian majority owner agrees a purchase and sales agreement with the Hungarian company, and that is what the US administration will need to approve," the minister told Pink TV.

She added that the talks were expected to go in a good direction, and noted that such negotiations were always complex, and that "all topics are important" and "everyone is defending their own interests."

Finding a long-term solution is the most important thing for Serbia, which has not caused the sanctions on NIS in any way, Djedovic Handanovic said.

Since the beginning, Serbia has been open and transparent, she said, adding that talks with MOL on an agreement among future NIS shareholders were underway simultaneously.

The talks are constructive and making progress, Djedovic Handanovic said.

"We have closed a large number of outstanding issues, we have even found common ground on some complex issues. But, I repeat, a deal between the majority owner and MOL is the most important. Serbia will not be a stumbling block in that transaction. We will find compromise with the Hungarian company, but we will do everything to protect our interests and our position, which we have been doing successfully so far," the minister said.

In a very complex geopolitical situation, energy security and stability, as well as continued operations of the Pancevo oil refinery, are the most important for Serbia, she noted.

Commenting on her recent meetings with Gazprom and Gazprom neft representatives in St Petersburg, Djedovic Handanovic said the discussions had been open, constructive and substantial, and that there was a "sense of trust" at the meetings.

"We have our challenges and outstanding issues, but we have been partners for years and there is a sense of trust. Serbia is the only European country that has not imposed sanctions on Russia. We have remained very principled, even though we respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine. But everyone is looking after their own interests. That is how it is in geopolitics, as well as in life. We have sold NIS - or rather, it was sold by someone else before us - and now we are talking about how the Russians should behave. Perhaps we should have thought about how we should behave, but it is what it is," Djedovic Handanovic said.