The U.S. State Department demanded Russia's withdrawal from Serbian oil company NIS

Russia should completely withdraw from the company Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS). This statement was made by US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs James O'Brien on January 12.

"The only way to reduce the risk to zero is to make the Russian ownership share equal to zero," he said on Radio and Television Serbia.

He described the absence of money outflow to Russia as the only condition for the acceptability of NIS activities for the US. According to him, the reduction of the Russian share will have an impact on the relations between Belgrade and Washington.

At the moment, Russia's share in the NIS is 56.15%.

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On January 10, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed restrictions against NIS as part of a new package of anti-Russian sanctions. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on January 5 that in case of sanctions from the U.S. side, the country is ready to buy out Russia's stake in NIS. He added that if the estimated value of the company is €1 billion, the stake could be bought out for about €600 million.

At the same time, the Serbian leader said he wanted to have a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the U.S. sanctions imposed on NIS.

Western countries increased sanctions pressure on Russia after the start of the special operation to protect civilians in Donbas, which was announced on February 24.