Djedovic Handanovic hopes for understanding from US administration on NIS sanctions

BELGRADE - Serbia's caretaker Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic said on Thursday Serbia must make plans and prepare for the worst-case scenario if there are no further delays of US sanctions on its Russian majority-owned oil company NIS.

In an appearance on K1 TV, Djedovic Handanovic said she hoped the new US administration would show understanding for Serbia.

That requires active dialogue and an improvement of overall relations with the US, she said.

"NIS is an indispensable topic when it comes to maintaining communication with US officials in general and thinking strategically about how to improve overall relations. We signed the first strategic agreement with the US last year - it has to do with the energy sector, where we want to have better ties when it comes to cooperation, or to create the conditions and opportunities for that," Djedovic Handanovic said.

She said Serbia had also maintained active dialogue with the Russian side and that Russian companies had a decades-long presence in the Serbian energy sector.

"We rely on Russia when it comes to gas supplies, and if it were not for that cooperation, Serbia would likely be much more heavily impacted by the energy crisis, above all, when it comes to prices of fuels, and I am primarily referring to gas. Since 2008, when NIS was sold, we have also been relying on Russian partners in the oil sector to a great extent. We also have good political, historical, cultural and economic relations with Russia, and we will also continue to discuss this problem with them," Djedovic Handanovic said.