Beslac: New US licence for NIS to put Russia under more pressure to finish talks or give up

BELGRADE - A new operating licence issued to Serbia's Russian-majority owned oil company NIS by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) will put Russia under additional pressure to bring talks with Hungary's MOL on selling its stake in the firm to a conclusion or give up on them, says Serbian economist Milan Beslac.

Serbia should hold more discussions with its representatives in the NIS Board of Directors to get a more realistic insight into the ongoing talks to be able to initiate a potential purchase of the Russian stake, Beslac told Tanjug on Wednesday.

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

The OFAC has extended the operating licence for 30 more days - until July 31.

Beslac said the new licence was important for unobstructed NIS operations but still did not put the company in a more favourable position.

"Thirty days is not a short period of time but I think that, at this time, Serbia must initiate certain activities for this to come to an end. I think Serbia should get information from its members in the NIS Board of Directors about what is going on with the company and initiate talks to buy 56 pct of shares in NIS based on that information," Beslac said.

In case the US fails to approve a Serbian acquisition of a majority stake in NIS, it will mean that Serbia and one of its companies, and not Russia, are under sanctions, he said.

"In the interest of the citizens and the state, Serbia would have to make more radical moves in case the talks between MOL and Gazprom neft are not concluded," Beslac said.