Serbia's energy reliance on Russia comes unstuck facing US oil sanctions

President Vucic has traded barbs with the Kremlin amid differences over gas supplies and Serbia's arms trade.

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Added differences over Russian gas supplies and Serbia's arms trade have ramped up the tensions, with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic trading barbs with the Kremlin.

The root of the problem, and the most pressing issue, is the fate of Serbia's national oil company.

Russia's Gazprom and Gazprom Neft own more than half the shares of Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS). That has put the company in a tight spot, after US sanctions on NIS came into effect last month over its ties to Russia's energy industry.

Serbian Energy Minister Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic has told the BBC that NIS's Russian owners have now asked the US for a waiver, which indicated "the Russian side was ready to transfer the control and influence upon the company to a third party". But she warns time is running out.