Serbia will not face increased pressure from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to resolve the issue of Serbian oil company NIS ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections, Christopher Hill, former U.S. ambassador to Belgrade and a fellow at the Atlantic Council in Washington, told Insajder. However, he warned that after October 25, Belgrade would have to make concrete decisions, including the possibility of nationalizing the company if negotiations between Hungary’s MOL and Russia’s Gazprom over the acquisition of a majority stake failed. “There is an understanding at the moment, but we will reach a point when Serbia can no longer buy time and will have to consider the option of nationalization. Nobody is going to push Serbia to resolve this now, with only a few weeks left until the elections, and this is not the time for dramatic decisions. But if the negotiations with MOL lead nowhere, option B, which is nationalization, will have to be put on the table,” Hill said. He added that the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) would not lift the sanctions because Washington wanted to eliminate Russian influence from the energy sector in the Balkans. On the other hand, it is clear that Russia is reluctant to agree to sell one of its largest investments in the Balkans, Hill said. Although the Trump administration is aware of how complicated the NIS situation is for Serbia, he expects Washington to make it clear after the elections that further delays in reaching a solution will not be possible. Hill also assessed that Russia could secure a better price by selling soon rather than as time goes on.

The Iron Gate 3 pumped-storage hydropower plant could become a strategic energy project for Serbia and the United States, contribute to electricity supply security and strengthen Serbia’s position as a regional energy hub, caretaker Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Đedović Handanović and Dušan Živković, general manager of Serbian state-owned utility EPS, said at The Danube Future forum, organized by the Pupin Initiative.

Savo Manojlović, leader of the Kreni-Promeni movement, announced that a session of the Belgrade City Assembly had been scheduled for Tuesday, October 13, to discuss opposition councilors’ request for the dismissal of Mayor Aleksandar Šapić.