BELGRADE, May 20. /TASS/. Negotiations between Belgrade and the Hungarian concern MOL regarding the latter's purchase of Russia's stake in the company Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS) are not going well, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said.
Belgrade is hoping for understanding from the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) as the deadline expires on May 22, he added.
"Negotiations with MOL are not going well, not brilliantly. We always leave open the possibility that everything will be done properly, but I'm not overly optimistic. And what will happen in two days, on May 22? I hope that OFAC understood our position and that Serbia would not be subject to sanctions through no fault of its own," Vucic told reporters.
Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Djedovic-Handanovic stated on May 7, following talks with MOL representatives, that Belgrade was not satisfied with the Hungarian concern's proposal regarding the agreement between future NIS shareholders.
On January 19, Gazprom and MOL announced the signing of a letter of intent to sell a stake in Serbia's NIS. Serbian authorities announced an increase in their stake in the company by 5%, which will allow Belgrade to influence some decisions at the shareholders' meeting. MOL is also in talks with the UAE's ADNOC about joining NIS as a minority shareholder.
