Vucic: Talks with MOL not going well, I am hoping for understanding from OFAC

BELGRADE - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Wednesday talks with Hungary's MOL about its acquisition of a Russian majority stake in the Serbian oil company NIS were not going well and that he was not too optimistic about a deal being reached by May 22 - a deadline set by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) - but that he hoped the OFAC would have understanding for the position Serbia was in.

Since October 9, 2025, NIS has been under US sanctions due to its Russian-majority ownership.

An OFAC licence for talks on changes to the company's ownership structure expires on May 22, 2026.

"This thing with MOL is not going well for us, it is not going great. We will always allow the possibility of it being done the way it should be done, but I am not too optimistic. So now, what will happen in the next two days, by May 22? I hope the US OFAC will understand the position Serbia is in and that Serbia will not be punished through no fault of its own. And I ask them to understand this," Vucic told reporters at the Palace of Serbia.

The job of the authorities is to look after the people and find a way out of this grave global economic crisis, which is not just an energy or oil crisis, he also said earlier.