Croatian Minister of Economy, Ante Šušnjar, stated today that Croatia is ready to purchase the Oil Industry of Serbia (NIS) if that were to be the solution.
“Our hand is extended; if that is the solution, we are ready for that option as well,” Šušnjar told reporters, commenting on the introduction of US sanctions against NIS.
He said that this move would ensure the continuity and business interests of Jadranski naftovod (JANAF), which have been closely connected with NIS for 40 years, “without any pretensions of taking over the retail market in Serbia.”
“That would make things easier for both us and Serbia,” added the Croatian minister, who belongs to the right-wing Homeland Movement (Domovinski pokret), a minority partner in the government of Prime Minister Andrej Plenković’s Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ).
He also added that the refinery in Pančevo supplies 20 percent of the derivatives market in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).
“This is an additional challenge for BiH as well, and by the end of the month, we expect the completion of the modernization of the refinery in Rijeka, which would increase our capacities. This way, we could help BiH, and partially Serbia,” Šušnjar added, as reported by Croatian Radio and Television (HRT).
He dismissed assessments that the development regarding NIS and the sanctions jeopardizes Croatia’s position in negotiations with MOL regarding the supply of sufficient quantities of oil to Hungary and Slovakia.
The Minister said that Croatia is ready to deliver sufficient quantities of oil to Hungary, Slovakia, and Serbia when circumstances and geopolitical conditions allow.
Sanctions will cost 18 million euros
The US sanctions against the Oil Industry of Serbia (NIS) will cost Croatia 18 million euros if they remain in force until the end of this year.
This was stated on the Croatian Radio program “I mreži Prvog” by Stjepan Adanić, Chairman of the Management Board of Jadranski naftovod (JANAF), regarding the US sanctions against the Oil Industry of Serbia coming into effect today.
NIS is, he says, an extremely important JANAF partner because business with the Serbian company accounts for more than 30 percent of its revenues. Therefore, the US sanctions against NIS represent a loss for Croatia.
“That is our loss of 18 million euros by the end of the year, if the sanctions remain. However, we hope that NIS, the Americans, and the Russians will find some solution before the end of the year,” Adanić said, as reported by HRT, which prominently published NIS’s statement about the US sanctions coming into force.
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Source: Nova.rs, Kurir; Foto: Printscreen YouTube / JANAF, d.d.