Serbia terminated several defense contracts with Russia, the Chief of the General Staff of the Army of the Republic, General Milan Mojsilovic said. According to him, Belgrade's decision came as a reaction to the unstable situation in the world.
A Serbian correspondent asked Mojsilovic whether sanctions against Moscow made it difficult for Belgrade to use Russian weapons. The Chief of the General Staff replied that the Serbian Army could still find ways to service its military equipment since weapons produced in the USSR and Russia were available to many countries.
"As for the supply of weapons from the Russian Federation, this is currently practically impossible," Milan Mojsilovic said.
Serbia terminated a number of contracts and postponed others in a hope that the situation in international relations would normalize the implementation of existing agreements. The Serbian authorities are trying to find a way out of this situation through diplomatic channels, the official said.
The Serbian leadership, in particular President Aleksandar Vučić, remain under constant pressure surrounded by NATO countries. Vučić has been trying to stay away from the sanctions policy of the West against Russia. Serbia may try to demonstrate its neutral position to the West, although Russia traditionally has warm relations with Serbia, Vladimir Dzhabarov, a member of the Federation Council believes.
In April 2024, it was reported that Serbia was about to sign a deal to purchase fighter jets from France after the Balkan nation decided not to buy Russian fighters due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. It was reported that Belgrade was experiencing a number of problems related to the need for technical maintenance of Soviet weapons.