Djuric: Serbia's energy stability will not be jeopardised

BELGRADE - Serbian FM Marko Djuric said on Wednesday Serbia's energy stability had never been and would never be jeopardised by US sanctions on its Russian majority-owned oil company NIS and that price stability had been preserved thanks to cooperation with partners in the region.

At the Euronews Adria Summit, Djuric said that, through no fault of its own, Serbia was adversely impacted by developments between big powers and that the current Serbian administration was especially not responsible for the situation.

"We are developing our energy security by developing new capacities in terms of renewable energy as well as prospective development of nuclear potentials and capacities relating to nuclear energy, either in collaboration with some countries in the region or on our own. But in any case, we are looking to the future, in which energy needs in terms of both gas and electricity will clearly be one of the key engines of growth," Djuric said at a panel titled The Region between the East and West.

He noted that Serbia's oil company NIS was majority foreign-owned and that, in such circumstances, Serbia was striving to be fair and respect everyone while also protecting its state and national interest of stable energy supplies.

Djuric said Serbia was looking to gradually diversify its energy supply sources in a responsible manner, also focusing, to a great extent, on development of renewable energy sources.

He said Hungary's exemption from US sanctions on Russian oil was great news for the entire region and that the move further stabilised the regional energy market.

Asked how the move could affect Serbia, Djuric said his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto had called him on the first day of the US sanctions on NIS to tell him that Hungary stood by Serbia and its energy security.