SOKOLOVIĆ: Russians are not interested in NIS

- We have never negotiated with the representatives of company "Rosnjeft" on purchase of stocks of the Petroleum Industry of Serbia because the privatization councillor, consortium "Merrill Lynch- Raiffeisen", informed us that the Russians were not interested in strategic partnership with Serbian oil company - said Slobodan Sokolović, the Assistant to the Republic Minister of Mining and Energy.

He expressed his regret for the fact that "Rosnjeft" was not interested in the stocks of NIS, concerning the fact that that is the company whose stocks on world stock exchanges are worth about 11 billion USD.

The Minister of Mining and Energy, Radomir Naumov, pointed out that the tender for privatization of NIS would be announced immediatelly after the ending of the republic elections, whereas the contract on construction of Russian gas pipeline "Plavi potok" ("Blue Stream") on the territory of Serbia would be signed after July 1, 2007, when the task force offered some concrete solutions.