Serbia and Hungary have reached a true understanding and I believe that it is not easy to break it, the deal with the Hungarian oil company MOL will be signed soon. This was stated by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in an interview with the public television RTS, BTA reported.
"We have reached a true and sincere understanding between us and I believe that it is not easy to break it. This is the most important thing, and that is why, although I would probably answer some questions differently, I will speak with respect for (the newly elected Prime Minister of Hungary Peter) Magyar and for everything that is to come," Vucic commented, adding that he was proud that he had managed to build, together with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the closest relations between Serbs and Hungarians in history so far.
Vucic expressed confidence that projects between Serbia and Hungary, such as the construction of an oil pipeline, would remain in force. This also includes the deal with MOL to purchase shares in the Serbian oil company NIS.
In December last year, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Treasury Department gave NIS until March 24 to negotiate the sale of shares held by Russian companies “Gazprom“ and “Gazprom Neft“, 44.9 and 11.3 percent respectively. The license has currently been extended until May 22.
A month later, the Hungarian oil company MOL said it had signed a binding agreement with Russian companies to buy their shares in NIS, and the state corporation of the United Arab Emirates “Abu Dhabi National Oil Company“ (Abu Dhabi National Oil Company/ ADNOC) will be a minority shareholder.
"Of course, this is a difficult deal, because they have difficult conditions, as we do for them. Ours are related to the operation of the refinery and the fact that we cannot have more control than we had in relations with Russia. They also have their own demands, but I believe we will find a compromise solution," the Serbian president told RTS.
He also commented on the fuel situation in the country after the outbreak of the conflict in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. According to him, Serbia does not have enough fuel to cope with the crisis and military reserves will probably have to be used.
"Is this enough? Well, it is not enough for anyone and this brings a crisis to all spheres of public life. We gave up an additional five percent of our excise taxes and for you this is normal, but the state will have to make up for it somehow,", Vučić emphasized and added that the reduction of excise taxes directly reduces revenues in the state budget.