Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that Serbia has only four days left before its only oil refinery is forced to halt operations if the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) does not approve the special license for it to continue operating, and that the Serbian Oil Industry (NIS) refinery, located in Pancevo, has shifted to a “warm circulation” mode, essentially idling at the lowest possible level – and has not yet been fully shut down.
Aleksandar Vučić: “For nine months, we followed the instructions of our Russian friends, and sanctions were imposed on us. And we continued to do what our Russian friends told us, signed their every demand, and our country was put in a very difficult situation,” portal 021 reports.
Gee, who could have foreseen THAT would happen? Maybe we shouldn’t follow the instructions of the Russian team of creative idiots next time.
Vucic also stated that the Serbian Government, on Monday, unanimously backed his proposal to grant the Russian side a 50-day deadline to find a new owner for the majority-Russian-owned Serbian Oil Industry (NIS).
“If no buyer is found by then, Serbia will install its own management team in the company and offer the Russians the highest possible price for their stake.”
How about Serbia stop being Russia’s voluntary slave, for a change?
He noted that both the National Bank of Serbia and all commercial banks doing business with NIS have received formal warnings that they risk coming under US sanctions themselves.
In accordance with that, the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) informed the public that it will suspend all payment transactions with NIS if the company fails to secure an operating license by the specified deadline.
“This measure is to ensure that the stability of the domestic financial system is in no way called into question and that payment transactions within the country continue to run smoothly,” the NBS stated.
Local public discourse in Serbia still insists that nationalization would be a bad idea, as it would drive away the investors and other such nonsense.
“My proposal to the Government of Serbia and the Americans was to give 50 days to find a new investor, i.e., a buyer of NIS. We wish the Russians every success in this. We do not interfere in the choice. We would like them to offer us first, but we respect it, it is their right as owners. After that, we will no longer have the option for anything,” stated Vučić.
“We are ready to suffer all the consequences for the next 50 days. We are ready for everything to stop working, for the Refinery not to work, because we will not nationalize NIS today, tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow. That is my decision, and the Government of Serbia has supported it. After 50 days, if there is no purchase agreement, we will not nationalize even then, but introduce our own administration, and then offer the highest possible price and pay the highest price to our Russian friends…We had the right of first refusal four times, three in this year and once in 2020. We didn’t use any of them, we let the Russians hand it over to the Russians because we had respect for the Russian side.” Vučić said.
There is a belief amongst the general population in Serbia that the sanctions against the Russian Federation will go away after Trump strongarms Ukrainian leadership into a forced peace plan that would favor Russia, so everything can go back to business as usual.
Such beliefs are reinforced by the Witkoff-Dmitriev 28-point peace plan.
So it might seem politically acceptable to both the Serbian political parties, both in power and in opposition, as well as to the general public, to suffer economically for a few weeks or months, until Russia achieves its goals in Ukraine, so that NIS can stay Russian-owned, as tribute for Russia’s continued support of Serbian geopolitical goals – achieving the Serbian World.
“The Western Balkans are a critical point for security, and the entire attention of the European Union is focused there,” said Bulgarian President Rumen Radev in response to a BGNES question regarding the EU’s warnings about the dangers posed by the “Serbian World” project and how this initiative by Belgrade affects security in the Western Balkans.
“I believe it is high time all European institutions take this issue much more seriously. It is an extremely sensitive matter for us as well,” Radev added.
Serbianism 