Serbia stops weapon exports: Vucic reacts to international criticism!

Serbia stops weapon exports: Vucic reacts to international criticism!

Belgrad, Serbien - Serbia's President Aleksandar Vučić has announced a comprehensive stop of ammunition exports. This decision, which was made after a meeting of the extended general staff college in the Ministry of Defense, is intended to suspend the country's military exports for the next 30 days. According to Kosmo, Serbia ensures that the ammunition will only be delivered to its own armed forces in the future. In addition, special permits from the National Security Council are required for future exports. Defense Minister Miloš Vučević confirmed the suspension of all export activities from Serbian production and described this measure as necessary to increase the operational readiness of the National Army.

This step falls together with the pressure of US sanctions that are directed against the Serbian secret service chief Aleksandar Vulin, who is criticized for suspected illegal weapons sales. AP News reported that the USA has to have close connections to a weapon dealer sanctioned by the United States. Vulin, a confidante of Vučić, has a pro-Russian attitude, which also contains the relationships of Serbia to Russia.

international tensions and weapons transport

In addition, against the background of growing international tensions, fears thrive fears about possible illegal weapons transports. On the same day on which the export stop was announced, an Israeli freight aircraft landed in Belgrade, which raises questions about arms transport. In the past, Vučić had emphasized that Serbia was the only European country that delivered military ammutory to Israel.

The Serbian weapon exports to Israel have received a remarkable increase, from 1.4 million euros in 2023 to 42.3 million euros in 2024. Serbian ammunition via third countries will be forwarded to Ukraine, which Vučić vigorously denies. These allegations play a central role in the recent decision to temporarily stop all weapon exports.

future developments and political contexts

Serbia is in a complex political dilemma. The country is aiming for an EU membership, but has not approved the western sanctions against Russia. This decision to change export policy is rated as a diplomatic damage limitation because Serbia is under international observation. The Minister of Defense emphasizes that the needs of the Serbian army have the highest priority and that each export case should be checked separately in the future in order to protect the existence of employees in the armaments industry, of which around 150,000 people depend.