Ministry of Defense of Serbia made an urgent announcement

In the statement delivered to the media, it is stated that the Ministry, the Serbian Armed Forces, as well as the vast majority of the citizens of our country, welcomed with joy the news that the President of the Republic and the Commander-in-Chief of the Serbian Armed Forces, Aleksandar Vučić, reached an agreement with the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, on the acquisition of 12 new multi-purpose combat aircraft type "Rafale" from the company "Dassault".

"It is one of the most modern aircraft of its type in the world, whose entry into the armament of the Air Force and anti-aircraft defense will ensure the long-term protection of the airspace of the Republic of Serbia and contribute to the overall security of our country and its citizens," the Ministry of Defense says.

"Therefore, we believe that the evaluations made in public that the acquisition in question represents an alleged violation of the military neutrality of the Republic of Serbia are extremely unfounded and incompetent, and that the only reason for such public statements is to create artificial publicity and mislead the public," the statement added.

"Namely, the proclaimed military neutrality of our country refers, first of all, to the determination of the Republic of Serbia not to join any existing military alliance and to make all decisions on matters of its defense independently and to assume full responsibility for them. It is precisely this type of responsibility that the state leadership, led by the President of the Republic, has shown several times in the previous period that it strives to provide the Serbian Army with the most modern weapons and equipment available on the world market.

We remind you that in the past few years, the Republic of Serbia has made a number of purchases of modern aircraft, air defense missile systems, radars, combat vehicles, electronic systems and other assets from various countries, including the Russian Federation, the People's Republic of China, the United States of America, Spain and France. Each of the aforementioned procurements was carried out exclusively according to the requirements of the General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces as the highest expert staff body, which based its assessments on the needs of our units, tactical-technical characteristics and the quality of NGO assets that can be procured on the world market.

None of the aforementioned acquisitions, as well as the announced acquisition of the Rafale multi-purpose aircraft, is, nor can it be, an act of disrespect for the military neutrality of the Republic of Serbia, but is solely an act of statesmanship, patriotism and professional responsibility for the defense of the country and the safety of all our citizens.

The Ministry of Defense appeals to all political actors in the country to leave defense issues out of their daily political agendas and to unite around the national and security interests of the Republic of Serbia, especially in the current moment of global instability," concluded the Ministry of Defense of Serbia.