Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Friday that the Croatian government and US Administration discussed the sanctions against Russian energy companies for weeks.

The US Treasury imposed tighter sanctions on Russian energy industry companies, including Gazprom Neft which has a majority share of the Serbian Oil Industry (NIS).

„For us, it is important that this package of sanctions, particularly the aspect that pertains to Croatia, namely NIS, which is co-owned by Gazprom Neft, allows 45 days for the Serbian authorities to resolve the issue of ownership during this transitional period,“ Plenkovic told reporters.

Croatia’s oil pipeline operator JANAF said it is working intensively with the government to find ways to ease the impact on its business operations.

Plenkovic recalled that 95% of oil transport to Serbia is facilitated by JANAF, which is highly significant for Serbia’s energy and economic security.

„It is in Croatia’s interest that these 45 days be used to resolve the ownership issue. We want JANAF to continue supplying Serbia with oil through Omisalj via our pipelines because we want our neighbor to be stable both in terms of the economy and energy security, and the Serbian authorities are aware of this… At the same time, we are taking great care of JANAF’s business operations, and we have addressed any potential secondary consequences of this sanctions regime for JANAF. In this regard, we will ensure that JANAF’s operations remain completely unaffected,“ Plenković concluded.