EditVučić fears US sanctions could trigger Serbian bank failures
Belgrade braces for potential energy and financial fallout as US sanctions on majority Russian-owned NIS take effect
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has warned of severe consequences for the country from US sanctions on the majority Russian-owned company Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS), fearing that bank failures could not be ruled out.
NIS – in which Gazprom Neft owns a 44.9% stake, Gazprom 11.3% and the Serbian government 29.9% – operates Serbia’s sole refinery, in the town of Pančevo, just outside of Belgrade.
Gazprom Neft transferred a stake of around 5.15% in NIS to Gazprom on 26 February in an attempt to ward off sanctions.
The refinery has an annual capacity of 4.8 million tons and covers most of the Balkan country’s needs, and sanctions could jeopardise its supply of crude via Croatia’s JANAF.
The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control initially placed sanctions on Russia’s oil sector on 10 January, and gave Gazprom Neft 45 days to exit ownership of NIS. The sanctions’ enforcement has been postponed every month. So far, implementation has been delayed six times, most recently until 1 October, and subsequently extended by another eight days to 8 October.
Serbia still hopes that a solution would be found by Wednesday. Vučić noted that the government would have to negotiate with the Russians, who remain the majority owners of NIS.
“I hope the company will not lay off a large number of workers, but we shall see. In any case, we will discuss everything with the Russians, because at this point we have nothing further to talk about with the Americans,” Vučić told reporters in Belgrade.
According to him, the U.S. “has done its job” and Europe will support American sanctions. “I am quite sure that after a short time JANAF will also stop delivering oil,” he said.
The JANAF pipeline is a crude oil route running through Croatia, Serbia and Hungary, with branch lines to Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. For the moment, it is Serbia’s only option for importing oil by tanker through the Mediterranean.
Vučić went on to warn that the US measures could spill over into Serbia’s banking sector, stressing that “there is no bank that would not want to avoid American sanctions”. Domestic banks, he said, could endure for only a few more days once sanctions take effect, but “they will not want to go bankrupt or disappear because of these sanctions”.
“We shall face countless problems – that means you cannot pay your workers, you cannot pay for anything, parts for the refinery… We shall have to see how to resolve this,” Vučić stated.
The Serbian president said the authorities had been searching for a solution for months, but none had been “good enough for our partners and friends”.
“Not because we are weak or arrogant, but because everyone has been rigid in their positions and nobody wanted to move away from them, while few were interested in Serbia’s position. We shall certainly come out on top, neither guilty nor innocent,” Vučić added.
He stressed that it was the duty of himself, the government and parliament to ensure normal living conditions for Serbian citizens, which they would do.
Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on 2 October that Moscow remained in constant contact with Belgrade and was discussing possible solutions with Washington regarding the sanctions against NIS.
Washington’s sanctions aim to restrict financing of the war in Ukraine through revenues from Russian energy firms.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday Croatian daily Vijesti reported that Croatia would open talks next week on the price of oil transport via JANAF to Hungary and Slovakia. Hungarian company MOL is set to send a delegation to Croatia, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković confirmed.
He underlined that Croatia was offering its neighbours a secure supply route as an alternative to the Druzhba pipeline, which has for decades supplied Europe with Russian oil.
Plenković explained that the capacity of Croatian operator JANAF (the Adriatic Oil Pipeline) exceeds by more than three million tonnes the actual refining capacity of MOL’s facilities in Slovakia and Hungary.
“Negotiations are scheduled for the middle of next week, when MOL’s delegation is expected to arrive in Croatia. JANAF is an important business entity – a company that enables Serbia’s NIS refinery in Pančevo to supply 95% of its crude oil. With its capacity, JANAF provides delivery of up to 15 million tonnes to refineries in Slovakia and Hungary,” Plenković said.
He added that these refineries can process slightly over 14 million tonnes annually, having refined around 11.5 million tonnes last year.
“JANAF is an alternative and completely secure oil supply route, which can replace deliveries coming through the Druzhba pipeline,” the Croatian prime minister emphasised.
Sources: BETA, BGNES, Reuters
Caption: Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic arrives prior to the 7th meeting of the European Political Community (EPC) in Copenhagen, Denmark, 2 October 2025. The summit, bringing together leaders from across the continent, will focus on defense and support for Ukraine, the security situation in Europe, including economic security and migration. EPA/THOMAS TRAASDAHL
Updated: October 8, 2025 - 05:42
