BELGRADE, Serbia — The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, announced that the United States will impose sanctions against the country’s primary gas supplier, which is under Russian control. Vucic communicated this news on Saturday during an interview with the state broadcaster RTS, revealing that Serbia had been informed of these sanctions set to take effect on January 1. However, he mentioned that he has yet to receive any official documentation pertaining to this decision from the U.S. authorities.
To date, there has been no response from officials in the United States regarding the sanctions. Serbia heavily relies on Russian gas, which it imports through pipelines from neighboring countries. The gas is then distributed by the Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS), a company that is predominantly owned by Gazprom Neft, Russia’s state oil firm.
Vucic stated that once the official documents are received, his first step will be to engage in discussions with American representatives, followed by talks with Russian officials in an attempt to reverse the imposed sanctions. He emphasized the importance of maintaining friendly relationships with Russia while also not damaging ties with those implementing the sanctions.
Despite pursuing membership in the European Union, Serbia has chosen not to participate in Western sanctions against Russia due to its reliance on Russian gas supplies. Vucic also asserted that, in light of the looming embargo threats, he is currently unwilling to discuss any sanctions that might be considered against Moscow.
When questioned about the possibility of changes in the U.S. sanctions with the potential return of Donald Trump to the administration in January, Vucic responded that the focus should first be on obtaining the official documents and engaging with the existing administration, as time is of the essence.
The Serbian President is currently confronted with significant challenges to his over ten years of increasingly autocratic governance. Widespread protests have erupted among university students and other citizens, ignited by a tragic incident in which a concrete canopy collapsed at a railway station in the northern part of the country, resulting in the deaths of 15 individuals on November 1. Many in Serbia attribute this disaster to the pervasive corruption and nepotism within the government, which some believe led to the negligent handling of the building reconstruction—a part of a larger railroad initiative involving Chinese state-owned enterprises.