Serbia's NIS gets US approval to negotiate sale of Russian stake

BELGRADE, Dec 24 (Reuters) - The U.S. has granted Serbian oil refiner NIS until March 24 to negotiate the sale of its Russian owner's stake, Serbia's state-owned RTS TV reported on Wednesday.

However, RTS said NIS had not obtained an operating licence that would allow it to buy and process crude oil.

The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed sanctions on NIS in October, as part of broader measures against Russia's energy sector, after granting a series of waivers since January.

The sanctions have halted crude supplies via Croatia's JANAF pipeline, shutting down production at the Pancevo refinery.

Russia's Gazprom has an 11.3% stake in NIS, while its sanctioned oil unit Gazprom Neft holds 44.9%. The Serbian government has 29.9%, with the remainder held by small shareholders and employees.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Tuesday that Gazprom was in talks with Hungary's MOL over a possible sale of its majority stake in NIS.

(Reporting by Ivana SekularacEditing by Mark Potter)