(ANSA-AFP) - BELGRADE, FEB 27 - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said Thursday that the US had granted a month-long reprieve for sanctions targeting a Russian-backed energy company in Serbia. Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS), majority-owned by Russia's Gazprom Neft and its parent company Gazprom, is the only supplier of gas to Serbia and the majority owner of both gas pipelines that transport gas from Russia to Serbian households and industries. NIS was among the raft of companies hit by a sweeping round of US sanctions targeting the Russian energy sector in January as former president Joe Biden was leaving office. "We have received an additional 30 days for the Petroleum Industry of Serbia. It's one piece of good news for the citizens of Serbia," Vucic said in a post on social media along with a picture of a letter from the US Treasury Department detailing the extension. Serbia has maintained a close relationship with Moscow since the invasion of Ukraine and refuses to impose sanctions, unlike the European Union that it hopes to join. Vucic had stated earlier that if sanctions were implemented, it would be a severe blow to Serbia, which heavily relies on Russian gas. (ANSA-AFP).