Aleksandar Vulin, Minister of Defence (Ministry of Defence / Jovo Mamula)
Serbian Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin said on March 6 that Serbia is a free country and that no one should worry about it equipping its army for defense purposes.
“As a military neutral country, Serbia has to be ready and capable of protecting itself and its people no matter where they live. There’ not a single reason to impose any sanctions on Serbia and I’m sure that no country that respects international law and Serbia’s right to make independent decisions about its armament would [support such measures],” said Vulin.
Vulin added that Serbia is not a colony and that it will make its own decisions from which friendly countries it will procure equipment and arms, it says in the statement issued by Serbian Defense Ministry.
“The stronger Serbia’s army is, the longer will the peace in the Balkans last,” reasoned Vulin.
According to Radio Free Europe (RFE), on March 5, U.S. Embassy to Serbia again expressed its country’s concern over Serbia’s procurement of Russian military equipment and called on Belgrade to stop the exchange with Moscow which could lead to sanctions.
“We call on all our allies and partners to give up transactions with Russia which pose a sanction risk under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). We have a number of times expressed our concern over the acquisition of Russian military equipment in Serbia, including the planned purchase of Pantsir [anti-aircraft] system, to high government officials,” it says in the embassy’s response to RFE.
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