Gazprom Neft Group, the oil division of Russian giant Gazprom, will be given a 45-day grace period to exit Serbian oil company Naftna Industrija Srbije, following the latest sanctions imposed by the United States on the Russian oil sector on Friday, January 10, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said, Reuters reported.

The majority stake in Naftna Industrija Srbije, Serbia’s only oil refining company, is owned by Gazprom Neft, the oil division of Russian giant Gazprom, which has a 50% stake. In addition, a 6.15% stake is held by Russian giant Gazprom, Gazprom Neft’s parent company, according to Agerpres.

The Biden administration imposed the largest ever package of sanctions targeting Russian oil and gas revenues on Friday, in an attempt to give Kiev and the next Trump administration a leverage tool to push for a peace deal in Ukraine.

“They are demanding from us a complete exit of the Russians from NIS, an elimination, not a reduction,” Vucic said. He added that Serbia would be given a March 10 deadline to reach an agreement with the Russians on their exit from NIS.

The Serbian state owns a minority stake of just under 30% in Naftna Industrija Srbije, the most traded company on the Belgrade stock exchange.

NIS’s main refinery, located in Pancevo, east of the capital Belgrade, relies on crude imported by pipeline from neighboring Croatia. Anticipating that possible sanctions could make this pipeline unusable for NIS, Serbia began making plans to connect to the Drujba pipeline via Hungary, starting in 2026.