Serbia's diplomatic balancing act has left it teetering on the brink of a winter energy crisis, analysts warn, as US sanctions on its only oil refinery, the EU's phaseout of Russian energy, and Moscow's gas supply hardball hit home.

Since October, Belgrade has been desperately searching for a way to spare its majority Russian-owned oil firm from US sanctions that were enforced after months of delay.

As negotiations over the future of the Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS) continue, Serbian Energy Minister Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic warned that "time is running out" for the country's sole refinery.

NIS supplies 80 percent of the country's fuel needs and could burn through all its reserves by November 25.

"The refinery must stay operational — it's essential for a stable winter supply,"

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