Vuτςi προς to critics of Chinese missile purchase: ‘Leave Serbia alone’

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic called the reactions from Montenegro and Kosovo to the equipment of the Serbian armed forces from China and Russia malicious. “Leave Serbia alone, stop lying, and deceiving public opinion. Serbia will find its way. We are proud that we want to protect the country ourselves and not NATO on our behalf. We differ in that. and we are not ashamed, “Vucic responded in a televised address to accusations coming from neighbors about Serbia’s armaments programs. Yesterday, Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti expressed concern over Serbia’s purchase of Russian and Chinese weapons systems, calling Belgrade anti-European and anti-Eastern. Aleksandar Vuτςiτς, after confirming that Serbia had received the FK-3 anti-aircraft missile system from China, pointed out that it was a defense weapon, stressing that it is a legal right of Serbia to arm itself wherever it wants in order to safeguard its territorial integrity and its sovereign rights. It is noted that six Chinese Y-20 military transport planes carrying arrays of anti-aircraft missiles landed at Belgrade airport last Saturday night. The purchase of the Chinese anti-aircraft system was agreed in 2019 and Serbia has already prepaid it. Interestingly, the Chinese cargo ships carrying the missiles to Serbia flew one after the other and passed through the airspace of two NATO countries, Turkey and Bulgaria, before landing in Belgrade. Analysts see the move as a show of strength on China’s part and a dynamic presence on the international armaments scene. Serbia is the first European country to develop a Chinese missile system on its territory. In 2020, Serbia also procured CH-92A drones from China.

The purchase of Chinese missiles provoked the reaction of both Washington and Brussels. Commenting on the incident, the US Embassy in Belgrade said in a written statement that “governments should be aware of the risk they are taking and what the price will be when dealing with Chinese companies”. It is pointed out that “reliance on defense equipment from totalitarian regimes such as that in the People’s Republic of China is not a guarantee for the security of a country.” The United States is urging Serbia to align with the European Union’s security and defense policy and to turn to the arms market “from trusted suppliers who are not dependent on totalitarian regimes”.

Source: AMPE