The United States plans to impose sanctions on Serbia's main gas supplier, which is controlled by Russia, the country's President Aleksandar Vucic said, quoted by "Reuters".
President Aleksandar Vucic told state broadcaster RTS that Serbia had been officially informed that the sanctions decision would take effect on January 1, but that it had not yet received any related documents from the United States.
There was no comment from US officials.
Serbia is almost entirely dependent on Russian gas, which it receives through pipelines in neighboring countries. The gas is then distributed by the Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS), which is majority-owned by Russian state oil monopoly Gazprom Neft.
Vucic said that after receiving the official documents, "first we will talk to the Americans, then we will talk to the Russians" to try to reverse the decision. "At the same time, we will try to maintain friendly relations with the Russians and not to spoil relations with those who impose sanctions," he added.
Although it officially seeks membership in the European Union, Serbia has refused to join Western sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, in part over key Russian gas supplies.
Vucic said that despite the threat of an embargo, "I am not ready at this moment to discuss potential sanctions against Moscow."
Asked if the threat of US sanctions against Serbia could change with the arrival of Donald Trump's administration in January, Vucic said: "First we need to get the official documents and then we can talk to the current administration, because we are in a hurry."