MOSCOW: Serbian Prime Minister Duro Macut in an interview with TASS, his first with a foreign media outlet, has vowed that there will be ...
MOSCOW: Serbian Prime Minister Duro Macut in an interview with TASS, his first with a foreign media outlet, has vowed that there will be no weapons supplied to Ukraine by Belgrade while he remains a member of Serbia’s National Security Council.
On June 23, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) said that Serbia is using alternative routes to export its military products to Ukraine. Macut replied to a question as to what kind of measures Belgrade was taking following the publication of the statement about such supplies.
"As you know, at the suggestion of President Vucic, a decision was made, according to which any exports of arms and military hardware produced at Serbian plants will be sent out only with the approval of relevant ministries, agencies, and the National Security Council. The National Security Council is a body analogous to your Security Council of the Russian Federation. And I must emphasize that while I remain a member of this council, I will not support any arms sales to Ukraine," the Serbian premier assured.
He noted that Serbia and Russia are, above all, "two countries linked by centuries-old friendship and strategic partnership, while the Serbs and Russians are fraternal nations whom no one can break apart."
Serbian arms issue
On June 23, Russia’s SVR reported that Belgrade is using indirect channels to export military products to Ukraine and is ramping up supplies to Kiev’s armed forces.
According to the SVR, ammunition manufactured at Serbian defense enterprises — primarily for long-range heavy weapons — is being transferred to NATO countries "in the form of complete component sets for assembly."
"This enables Kiev to formally receive not Serbian-made weapons, but armaments assembled at factories in Western countries," the SVR report stated. "The ammunition is primarily fitted in the Czech Republic and Bulgaria," it added.
The SVR emphasized that "Serbian manufacturers are fully aware of who the end users are, and that their missiles and shells will be used to kill Russian servicemen and civilians."
According to the agency’s information, the Krusik plant in Valjevo recently sold large quantities of rocket kits for the 122-mm Grad MLRS to the Czech company Policske Stroirni. Additionally, the Loznitsa-based defense enterprise Eling sent kits for these rockets, as well as 120-mm mortar mines, to the Bulgarian firm Emko.
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