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The US has sanctioned Serbia's main oil supplier, which is majority-owned by Russia, the company confirmed on Thursday.
The sanctions against the Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS), which employs 5,000 people, took effect at 6 am on Thursday.
American authorities sanctioned the oil giant, which operates a refinery and 330 petrol stations in Serbia, because it is controlled by Moscow.
The move comes as part of the West's crackdown on Moscow's energy sector, following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
NIS' main shareholder is Russia's Gazpromneft with 45%, and after a swap deal, the Gazprom Capital-related JSC Intelligence controls around 11%. The Serbian state holds 30%, while small investors hold the remaining shares, accounting for about 13-15%.
The Russian-majority ownership can only be resolved through a buyout or nationalisation. While there is no money for the former, Serbian President Aleksandar VuΔiΔ is unwilling to take the second option.
"Nationalisation could be the only way out of the sanctions, but it is the last thing I would do," VuΔiΔ said on Thursday.
The Russian owners are not willing to withdraw from the market voluntarily, as they have "established a foothold" there,
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