BELGRADE, Jan 2, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic expressed hope Thursday that Russia and Hungary could quickly wrap up the sale of a Serbian oil company caught up in Washington's sanctions against the Kremlin over the invasion of Ukraine. According to Belgrade, Gazprom is in negotiation with the Hungarian fossil fuel company MOL to sell the 56-percent stake controlled by Gazprom Neft and Intelligence, two subsidiaries of the Russian giant. "I hope that the Russians and Hungarians will finish their work" by the January 23 deadline, Vucic told the press Thursday. The Serbian president had previously said that Russia, a key ally of Belgrade which supplies the majority of the Balkan country's natural gas needs, was not interested in reselling its shares in NIS to Serbia. Given the firm's importance to the Serbian economy, Vucic had repeatedly promised that the government would step in should no agreement on the sale of Russian shares be reached by January 15.

Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha January 02, 2026 03:50 UTC