WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Jim Risch (R-ID), Ranking Member and Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as well as Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC), Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Roger Wicker (R-MS) issued the following statement welcoming the Trump Administration’s decision to impose sanctions on Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS), the Russian-owned Serbian oil company:
“We welcome the Trump Administration’s decision to impose sanctions on NIS, the Russian-owned Serbian oil company. For far too long, Russia has used energy as a weapon for economic coercion to advance its malign agenda in Europe and financially sustain Putin’s war of aggression in Ukraine. We value our bilateral relationship with Serbia, which is why we have communicated with President Vucic on a number of occasions that Russia’s majority stake in NIS undermines his stated intention to pursue a path toward European Union membership.
“Serbia now stands at a crossroads between continued exposure to Russia’s malign influence and a future with the European Union with full access to the European market. A decisive move away from Russian energy could open a new chapter with the United States: one of deeper cooperation, stronger economic ties and closer alignment between our governments, businesses and our people. We hope that President Vucic will prioritize the economic and security interests of the Serbian people.”
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