Serbia has canceled contracts for Russian armaments, with which it has supplied the army since the Soviet era. The news was announced by the head of the army, General Milan Mojsilović, without specifying whether the country was cutting ties with Russia.
Serbia, a candidate country for EU membership, has long been Moscow's staunchest ally in Europe, and has been under increased pressure since the start of the war in Ukraine to become more Western-oriented in its foreign policies. . According to the head of the army, the reason behind the decision to cancel the contracts was the Western sanctions against Moscow, and the fact that Serbia was facing challenges from the use of Russian weapons.
He said that Belgrade was trying to find a solution through diplomatic channels, but that some of the contracts had been canceled and others had been postponed in the hope that international relations would normalize.
According to Mojsillovic, the Serbian army can continue to buy parts of Soviet and Russian equipment as it is manufactured under license by many countries around the world. However, he says that it will no longer be possible to buy new equipment from Russia.
In August last year, Serbia decided to abandon the purchase of a series of Russian fighter jets, which had been discussed as early as 2021. Instead, Belgrade bought 12 Rafale jets, worth 2.7 billion euros, from France.
Dr. Orhan Dragaš, founder of the Belgrade-based international security institute, told Euroacrice that the development represents a strategic turning point for Serbia, and is not temporary.
According to his opinion, the procurement of armaments is planned in the long term and if such ties are violated, they are almost never repaired, which means that Moscow has lost one of the main levers of influence in the Western Balkans.
(A2 Televizion)
A2 CNN Livestream
MUND TE LEXONI GJITHASHTU
