Botsan-Kharchenko: Solution for NIS found thanks to good Serbia-Russia relations

BELGRADE - Russian Ambassador to Belgrade Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko said on Thursday the Serbian oil company NIS had been in a very complicated situation but that a joint solution had been found thanks to good cooperation between Serbia and Russia.

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

"We had, and we still have, a very difficult challenge. We have succeeded in maintaining cooperation. Serbia has not done anything that is detrimental to us, and Russia and Gazprom neft (NIS's majority owner) have not done anything that is detrimental to Serbia. I have had daily contacts with people from Gazprom, Gazprom neft and the NIS management. It is hard to imagine the amount of effort made to avert market disruptions, including financial companies," Botsan-Kharchenko told Prva TV.

"In this situation, Russia could have said 'this is our company, let it remain in its present state.' We have taken a step to accommodate Serbia because we are aware that this is about its energy stability," Botsan-Kharchenko also said.

He noted that a recent agreement between Hungary's MOL and Gazprom neft about an acquisition of NIS by MOL was an agreement of shareholders and that many things remained behind the scenes.

"It is difficult to confirm reports by Serbian and Russian media outlets - we have parts of the story, but only the shareholders have the full picture," Botsan-Kharchenko said when asked if price had been a problem in the process of finding a potential buyer for NIS.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Tuesday in Davos a response to a request to the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to extend an operating licence for NIS was due by Friday, and noted that he saw no reason for the licence not to be extended beyond January 23.

On December 31 2025, the OFAC issued a special license that allows the company to conduct operational activities until January 23, 2026.

Earlier, the OFAC issued a licence extending until March 24 a deadline for talks on a sale of the Russian stake in the company.

On January 19, MOL and Gazprom neft agreed the fundamental provisions of a future sales and purchase agreement on NIS, to be reviewed by the OFAC.

In negotiations, Serbia has succeeded in increasing its stake in NIS by five per cent.

Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic said on Wednesday the Serbian government had sent a letter to the US administration in support of a request for an extension of an operating licence for NIS, as well as a potential transaction between MOL and Gazprom neft, and that Washington's response was due by the end of this week.