Overview

• NIS faces the new U.S. sanctions start date of October 8 after prior temporary delays were granted.
• President Aleksandar Vučić said the United States would consider a postponement only if Serbia nationalized NIS, a step he said he does not want to take.
• NIS filed its eighth postponement request and a bid to be removed from the U.S. sanctions list on September 28, and sought a new special license on October 3 to keep operating beyond October 8.
• Vučić said Russia has political and financial reasons not to sell NIS, noting that decisions on the issue would be coordinated with Moscow.
• The company’s ownership includes a major Gazprom Neft stake and a significant Serbian state holding, with a Gazprom‑linked St. Petersburg firm recently disclosing an 11.3% purchase, and opposition figure Alexander Vulin framed the U.S. measures as an effort to damage Serbia–Russia ties.