The Belgrade government actually maintains a close relationship with Russia and has not participated in sanctions against Russia.
Despite its opposition to sanctions against Russia, Serbia appears to have supplied Ukraine with weapons, or at least agreed to do so. This comes from a summary of European governments’ responses to Ukraine’s requests for military training and weapons. The letter is among dozens of documents classified as confidential or classified that have been leaked online by the Pentagon in recent weeks.
The list shows that Serbia refused to train the Ukrainian armed forces but agreed to supply arms. It was also said that Serbia has the political will and military capacity to supply Ukraine with arms in the future. The document is marked secret, which prohibits disclosure to foreign intelligence services and the military. It is dated March 2 and bears the seal of the Office of the Chief of Staff of the United States. Portal news agency could not independently verify the authenticity of the document.
Information about Serbia is politically explosive because the Belgrade government has traditionally had close relations with Russia. Despite the process of joining the EU, the country does not participate in sanctions against Russia.
No comments yet
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić’s office and the Ukrainian embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the latest development. The Moscow government asked Serbia in March for an official explanation for the alleged rendition, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova was quoted as saying by state news agency TASS.
Janusz Bugajski, an Eastern Europe expert at the Jamestown Foundation’s foreign policy institute, said: “If this document is correct, it either shows Vučić’s duplicity towards Russia or he is under enormous pressure from Washington to supply Ukraine with weapons.”
“Clean as a tear”
A report by the Russian pro-government news portal mash.ru, according to which 3,500 M21 rockets manufactured by Serbia’s state armaments factory Krušik were delivered to Ukraine via Turkey and Slovakia – reported “Die Presse” – still met with violent denials . “We do not sell weapons or ammunition to either Russia or Ukraine”, assured President Aleksandar Vučić at the time. “We are clean as a tear.”
(APA/Portal/Red.)