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Written by Ahmed Adel, Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher
Serbia has sold some €800 million in ammunition to various European countries that ended up in the hands of Ukraine despite the alliance and ties that have united Belgrade with Moscow for centuries, the Financial Times reported on June 22. Although Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić says he cannot control what purchasing countries do with the ammunition once they receive it and that it is a business opportunity for his country, he cannot be under any illusions that this will win him favors from the West.
The newspaper stated that, according to “estimates shared,” ammunition exports from Serbia to Ukraine through third parties amount to about €800 million since the start of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022. According to the British outlet, Vučić presented the situation as a business opportunity, insisting he would not take sides in the conflict in Eastern Europe.
“This is a part of our economic revival and important for us. Yes, we do export our ammunition,” the Serbian president said in the interview. “We cannot export to Ukraine or to Russia… but we have had many contracts with Americans, Spaniards, Czechs, others. What they do with that in the end is their job.”
“Even if I know [where the ammunition ends up], that’s not my job. My job is to secure the fact that we deal legally with our ammunition, that we sell it… I need to take care of my people, and that’s it. That’s all I can say. We have friends in Kiev and in Moscow. These are our Slav brothers,” he added before clarifying that the €800 million figure was over “maybe in two or three years, something like that.”
Vučić said Serbia has a golden opportunity, as its weapons are cheaper than in the West, adding that the scale of Serbia’s global ammunition exports could increase.
“In the United States and Germany, you cannot say now you’ll produce another tank without earning money… And we are good because people now see it [that we are cheaper],” he said.
Although Belgrade is not a NATO or European Union member and Serbs have long historical and traditional ties with Russians, Vučić says that he is committed to his country becoming a member of the EU. However, he cannot be under any illusions that indirect ammunition sales to Ukraine will bridge the immense differences that exist—mainly the West’s unrelenting commitment to Kosovo’s illegal independence from Serbia.
Serbia applied for EU membership in 2009 and was accepted as a candidate country in 2012, but progress has yet to be made since then and is unlikely due to the Kosovo issue, an issue in which Belgrade has unquestioned support from Moscow. Belgrade must delicately balance its relations since Kiev has also refused to recognise an independent Kosovo, which could change if Vučić is seen to be too strongly pivoting to Moscow.
In this way, perhaps Vučić believes he has achieved a balance by refusing to join US-led anti-Russia sanctions but being utterly indifferent to Serbian ammunition ending up in Ukraine via third parties. Although this might appease Kiev, it certainly makes no difference to the EU, which wants to see Serbia totally capitulate to its ideology and demands, including the recognition of Kosovo as an independent country.
European Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi admitted this during his visit to Serbia in May. He stressed that the Balkan country needed to continue with political reforms and align its foreign policy more closely with that of Brussels.
“It is clear that we need the democratic reforms to go ahead. One cannot forget about the need to align further with the EU foreign policy, this is again something that we have discussed and where we need Serbia to move along and to adjust its foreign policy more and more to EU foreign policy,” Varhelyi said.
At the time, Vučić responded by expressing his belief that Belgrade’s efforts to join the bloc would not be hampered.
“I am not sure that it is possible to predict many years ahead but we will prepare to be closer (with negotiations) and I hope that what Oliver Varhelyi rightly reproached us for, which is our non-compliance with their foreign policy, will not be a hindrance,” he said.
It is recalled that in April, the foreign affairs ministers of EU countries met in Luxemburg and agreed to amend Chapter 35, meaning that Brussels would freeze Serbia’s accession process into the bloc if it did not recognise Kosovo as an independent country.
A survey conducted by the Washington-based International Republican Institute found that the overwhelming majority of people in Albania and Kosovo want to pursue an unequivocally pro-European Union and pro-Western policy, while only 10% of Serbs gave the same response. In fact, a majority of the Serbs polled want Belgrade to either maintain ties with Moscow or pursue a pro-Russian foreign policy. This indicates that the majority of Serbs are not under any illusions about the so-called European Dream that the EU can supposedly offer.
Vučić has continued an independent foreign policy for Serbia, but he cannot keep selling Serbs the illusion that their country is on course to join the EU without recognising Kosovo’s independence. Therefore, although Russia is unlikely to retaliate to Serbia’s indirect sale of ammunition to Ukraine, something that will ultimately mean little to Brussels, further actions like this risk straining Belgrade-Moscow ties, as Russia has always unequivocally supported Serbia on the Kosovo issue.
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shame on you serbia, shame on you
actually; shame on vučić. serbia has been very not-eu lined. just few week ago serbia celebrated big contract with china. and said china is serbias most important partner. you could asume that serbia want to be in even in brics. this is now very strange news.
all these different so called eastern european leaders are just on different scripts. the usa are determinint which time is right for which step to push on the people. since the serbs have not yet forgotten the bombings of nato he can pretend to be oposing them for a bit longer then others.
in the end he is nothing different then a sandu or pashinjan.
first color coup in the row of modern coups was done in belgrade in 2000. later the same team managed coups in tbilisi, kiev and yerevan. in 2000’s all serbian leaders were strict pro-western liberals, i.e. 100% anti-serbian. now not all, but still the many are pro-western, because soros and another destructive organizations like ned still working and poisoning minds and souls of people. serbia/yugoslavia fought well against nazism. now nazis are trying to revenge.
“we have friends in kiev and in moscow. these are our slav brothers”. ah yes, your slav brothers who sell weapons to kill you. haha.
just like belarus, serbia is seeing now china as their partner in the east. russia is no longer seen as potent enough to help them in need. and since china has no problems selling drones to ukraine (most of the small ukrainian civilian drones that are repurposed for military use are from there, serbia sees no problem to sell ammo to ukraine via other proxis just like the balcan nations allready did to al quaida and isis.
first statement is just a crap, because russia and belorussia have the largest trade, common nuclear weapons, military drills and the allied state. second statement is also a crap, because “russia no longer seen as potent enough” grows even faster than all enemies expected. combat propaganda of hatred must tell to sheeple that russia is weak, not potent, 2% of word’s economy and another crap, but in the same time they portray russia as threat for whole universe. this is schizophrenia.
one more pro-western shill who still want to join the eu, conducts military drill with the aggressor who bombed his country. never trusted to him, especially after assignment a lesbian as prime-minister of his government. sodomites from ft are trying to manipulate when say “serbia” instead “pro-western sockpuppets”. same as in armenia, where people want soros’ gang to go out before they lost remnants of armenia. but no, they won’t change relationships between russia, serbia and armenia,
one of vucic advisers is tony blair, a nationalist head of serbian intel was dismissed on “western” request a year ago. serbian loyalty to russia is overwhelming and they overwhelmingly hate vucic