Vucic: Situation regarding NIS not easy, Russian representatives understood our position

BELGRADE - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Wednesday the situation regarding Serbia's Russian majority-owned oil company NIS was "not easy" and that Russian representatives had understood Belgrade's position, and expressed the hope they would act accordingly.

At a press conference with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Belgrade, Vucic said Serbia was not in talks with potential buyers of NIS as it was not the company's owner.

"We are not communists," he noted.

Vucic added that Serbia could set up a joint working group with EU representatives to address the energy situation in Serbia.

Serbia must work on development of its energy sector as data centres and development of artificial intelligence will consume large amounts of electricity in the future, he said.

He noted that efforts to develop Serbia's energy sector in the next decade would have to be greater than they had been in the past 80 years.

Vucic highlighted the significance of gas-fired power plants, especially those in Pancevo and Novi Sad, for Serbia's energy security.

"Many problems are ahead of us, but we are doing our best and working on the European path," he said.