Vucic: I have still not seen satisfactory solution for NIS

VRNJACKA BANJA - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Wednesday he had still not seen a solution for Serbia's Russian-majority owned oil company NIS that would satisfy both the Serbian and the Russian side, and noted that extending a deadline for the completion of talks on a sale of the Russian stake in the firm would not solve Serbia's problems as its time was "running out."

NIS is under US sanctions due to its Russian majority ownership.

Commenting on a report by a Russian internet news portal that said a potential solution involved the Hungarian oil company MOL, Vucic said there were discussions indicating that something might happen, but that nothing that would be a reason for joy had happened as yet.

Speaking at the opening of an approx. 14 km section of the Morava Corridor in central Serbia, Vucic said it was impossible for Serbia to import six tonnes of diesel on a daily basis.

"We are covering all that from current reserves, which is something I am not happy about. We have big problems. It is a miracle that we have endured 76 days without a drop of oil coming through the pipeline," he said.

Vucic said Serbia would endure for even longer because it was prepared.

"I hope Russia will succeed in finding the best solution with whomever it wants and that the solution will come soon," he said.