Djedovic Handanovic: US response regarding NIS due soon

BELGRADE - Serbia's Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic said on Friday a response from the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) about whether Serbia's Russian-majority owned oil company NIS would be granted a new operating licence or not was due soon and that it remained to be seen whether a transfer of management at the firm would be sufficient for it to continue to operate or there would be additional demands regarding its ownership.

Earlier, Djedovic Handanovic chaired a meeting of a working group set up to monitor the activities of the US Department of the Treasury and the OFAC regarding US sanctions on NIS, an official statement said.

The minister noted that the Russian side was the majority partner in NIS and that it was in charge of making decisions about changes of management or ownership at the company.

"The Russians are the majority owners of NIS and a decision on who they will engage in talks with about a change of management or ownership is up to them. The Government of the Republic of Serbia has supported those talks, which have been open and constructive, so that we can obtain a new operating licence and achieve our long-term goal - a removal of NIS from the sanctions list," she said.