
MOSCOW, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that a deal for Hungary's MOL to acquire a stake in Serbian oil refiner NIS would be beneficial for Russia.
Russia's Gazprom Neft SIBN.MM has reached a provisional agreement to sell its majority stake in NIS NIIS.BEL to MOL MOLB.BU, Serbia's Energy Minister Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic said on Monday.
Russia's Gazprom holds an 11.3% stake in NIS, while its sanctioned oil unit Gazprom Neft owns 44.9%. The Serbian government has 29.9%, with the remainder held by small shareholders and employees.