Official: Serbia is preparing an amendment that will allow it to take over a Russian-owned refinery.

The parliament speaker, who spoke to Euronews Serbia Tuesday, said that Serbia was preparing a change to the draft budget bill to allow it to own its Russian-owned and U.S. sanctioned oil refiner NIS.

In January, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Russia's energy sector, including NIS. This company is owned in majority by Russia's Gazprom and Gazprom. The U.S. granted NIS multiple waivers until the sanctions came into effect finally in October.

Ana Brnabic - a close ally to President Aleksandar Vucic - said on Tuesday night that the Parliament would begin debating the amendments prepared by the ruling SNS Party on either Wednesday afternoon or Thursday.

Brnabic, speaking to Euronews, said that one of the amendments will be submitted that will anticipate the eventuality that we will eventually take over NIS.

Vucic stated on Tuesday that the NIS oil refinery would shut down within four days if sanctions are not lifted by the United States, putting fuel supplies at risk ahead of winter. (Reporting and editing by Ivana Skularac)

(source: Reuters)