Serbia not opposed to its ammo ending up in Ukraine, president says
The Serbian president, Aleksandar Vučić, is not opposed to his country selling ammunition to intermediaries who ship it to Ukraine, he told the Financial Times, in a sign that Russia’s staunch Balkan ally is pivoting westwards.
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Mr Vučić has traditionally backed Moscow and refused to align with western sanctions on Russia after its full scale invasion of Ukraine.
However, the Serbian president now says he was aware of US government reports that Serbian ammunition ended up in Ukraine via intermediaries and that he had no plans to stop that.
"Is it possible that it’s happening? I have no doubts that it might happen. What is the alternative for us? Not to produce it? Not to sell it?" he told the FT.
While Mr Vučić’s apparent change of heart may have been caused by Western countries backing Serbia in a recent flare-up of ethnic tensions in Kosovo, he maintained that Belgrade sought to act in a "neutral way".
"But I’m not a fool. I am aware that some of the arms might end up in Ukraine."
Serbia’s president acknowledged he was walking a tightrope between Moscow and Western powers but said he would not help the Russian war effort.
"We joined all the UN resolutions," he said in reference to UN statements condemning Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. "We join re-export bans, such as dual-use [technology] in drones . . . We won’t be a hub for re-exporting something to Russia."
He added that the times when he spoke to Russian president Vladimir Putin every three months were over, pointing out he has not been in contact with the Kremlin for a year except for receiving visitors from Moscow.
"That never happened before," he said.