Vucic: Croatia is interested in continued cooperation with NIS and further delivery of oil to Serbia
President Aleksandar Vucic said that he yesterday in Brussels spoke with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic regarding the announced US sanctions against NIS, and that Croatia is also interested in continued cooperation and further delivery of oil to Serbia via the Janaf pipeline.
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Vucic told reporters in Brussels that both he and Plenkovic are in agreement regarding the continuation of cooperation between NIS and Janaf, stating that Plenkovic's approach was constructive.
"And what we both agree on is that regardless of our bilateral relations, which are not always at a high level, I cannot say that the Croatian company did not fulfill its obligations towards the Republic of Serbia, it would be unfair to say that. They are also interested in continued cooperation and further delivery of oil to Serbia," said Vucic.
Vucic pointed out that otherwise it would mean the bankruptcy of their company within two years, but it would also mean the end of "the fair cooperation that exists between Serbia and Croatia."
"50 percent of the ownership is a company that is under US sanctions, 6 percent is part of an associated company that is not under US sanctions. Our 29 percent of small shareholders are not under sanctions, nor will they be. I need to see what that looks like now and what it will look. Tomorrow I'll have talks with O'Brien and everyone else to see how it goes. Now I already have indications of what the paper will look like, but I have to get the paper finally," said Vucic.
He added that there will be a discussion in order to see what this is about, but that there should be no rush and that everything should be considered.
"And we can hurry to build the second oil pipeline as soon as possible, but we cannot build it for another year, as you know, toward Hungary," said Vucic.
He noted that this brings a certain kind of uncertainty and insecurity, but added that "solutions will be found, so people in Serbia should not worry."
(Telegraf Biznis/Tanjug)