23.04.2018.
Vučić: Our Armed Forces must be strong deterrent to possible aggression
Vučić: We wish to protect our freedom, national pride and dignity.
After reception on the occasion of the Serbian Armed Forces Day, President of the Republic of Serbia and Supreme Commander of the Serbian Armed Forces, Aleksandar Vučić, in a press release, extrended his greetings to the members of the Serbian Armed Forces as they celebrate their holiday and wished them better results in their further work.
- The state of Serbia invests about 600 million Euro a year into the Ministry of Defence and the Armed Forces. We will invest more and they will have higher salaries this year. Today, their salaries are about 10.5 percent higher than they were before the reduction, and with the new increases, this will be about 20 percent cumulatively. So, they will be a bit more satisfied. I am not saying that this is enough and I am not saying that this is an indicator of tremendous progress, but I would say that it is certainly gradual and stable progress.
At the same time, we will continue to work on equipping the Serbian Armed Forces. Our army must be modern, must be serious and must be ready to respond to all challenges. Our army must be a key deterrent to any possible aggression against our country and, accordingly, its readiness must be at its highest level - President Vučić said, stressing that in the previous days he had had talks with Defence Minister Aleksandar Vulin and the people from the Serbian Armed Forces General Staff about it.
The President thanked members of the Armed Forces for their patriotism, honourable attitude, dedication and devotion.
Asked to comment on the silent competition between the Serbian and Croatian armies, President Vučić emphasized that Serbia is neither participating in any race nor it can compete with a NATO member state.
- NATO is too powerful, and we are a small country. The only thing we want is to be masters on our own land, to preserve our freedom, to preserve our national pride and dignity. We want to be able to defend ourselves and save ourselves. Nothing more than that. We are not participating in any race competing with anyone, and we do not even have such capabilities. Croatia is not just Croatia. Croatia is a NATO member state. It would be illusory for me to talk about such things - the President said, pointing out that we want to be able to preserve our country.
VIDEOGALLERY23.04.2018
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