Serbia's NIS receives further sanctions reprieve from US

Serbia's largest energy producer was spared sanctions by the United States for another month on Friday, extending an early reprieve for the majority Russian-owned firm.NIS, which operates the country's only oil refinery, said in a statement to AFP that the US government had agreed to delay sanctions - first announced in January as part of Washington's crackdown on the Russian energy sector."The US Department of the Treasury has issued a new special license postponing the full implementation of sanctions," NIS said.Majority owned by energy giant Gazprom, the company has now managed to negotiate four extensions to avoid a broad package of sanctions originally due to begin in February.The sanctions are now due to come into effect on July 29, NIS said.If implemented, these sanctions would require the complete withdrawal of Russian interests and the sale of their shares -- or nationalisation.Introduced by former US president Joe Biden, the measure was aimed at throttling the flow of profits from the lucrative sector to Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine.Serbia has maintained a close relationship with Russia since the invasion and refuses to impose sanctions, unlike the European Union that it hopes to join.Serbia relies heavily on Russian gas supplies, provided by NIS.The contract between Belgrade and Moscow, signed in spring 2022, was due to expire at the end of May. It has been extended until the end of September.