14.07.2023.

Minister Vučević: The export of arms and military equipment produced by our defence industry suspended for the next 30 days – the Serbian Armed Forces are given a priority

Speaking about the decision to ban the export of arms and military equipment from Serbia, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Miloš Vučević has confirmed that the Government of the Republic of Serbia has adopted a resolution proposed by the President of the Republic, Aleksandar Vučić, as the Supreme Commander, to suspend the export of arms and military equipment produced by our defence industry, i.e. the Serbian Defence Industry Group, for the next 30 days.

- Priority will be given to the Serbian Armed Forces. Everything they need will be delivered to them by the factories belonging to the Defence Industry Group. In this way, we will further strengthen the defence capabilities of our country, i.e. the Serbian Armed Forces, being aware of the circumstances surrounding us and the facts that are relevant to the assessment of our country’s national security. This does not mean that Serbia is going to war, or that we are calling for war, but we carry out careful assessments of all security risks and challenges, we monitor everything that is happening and we act accordingly - Minister Vučević said.

According to the Minister of Defence, it is our assessment that at this moment commercial affairs cannot take priority over national security and the products manufactured by the defence industry must be directed primarily towards the Serbian Armed Forces and their needs.

- We are not making any grandiose plans, nothing that is not synchronized with the strategic plans of the Serbian Armed Forces, we are only further strengthening our capabilities, i.e. the Serbian Armed Forces. We will see what the situation will be after 30 days and whether the export ban will continue or whether normal business operations will be restored - the defence industry will be able to conclude commercial deals with third parties - emphasized Minister Vučević.

He once again underlined that the government pays for all the purchases made for the Serbian Armed Forces through the Ministry of Defence.

- Those are not gifts, we pay for them, we are just saying that a foreign company cannot have the advantage over the Serbian Armed Forces because Serbia’s national security is more important than all commercial affairs - Minister Vućević pointed out.

In response to the question regarding the latest accusations against our defence industry coming from abroad, Minister Vučević says that the accusation made by Belgium that a company headquartered in Wallonia sold ammunition manufacturing components and equipment to the company “Yugoimport-SDPR” for a factory in Uzići, and that the ammunition produced there has ended up in Russia, is completely false.

- False, completely false. Let me clarify it by saying that 90 percent of the total volume of small arms ammunition, including sporting ammunition, produced in Serbia, and we have two large factories - "Prvi Partizan" in Užice and the factory in Uzići, which are part of "Yugoimport-SDPR", goes to the American market. So 90 percent of the ammunition produced is sold to America. Now someone is making up the whole story and it is interesting that the story was started by a German TV station - said the Minister of Defence, adding that "Yugoimport-SDPR" has brought in its legal team and will determine whether there are grounds for a defamation lawsuit.

According to him, our defence industry has been the victim of hybrid war and constant accusations for the umpteenth time.

- That is unbelievable. Serbian arms dealers are viewed as "fraudsters involved in underground economy activities with countries under sanctions”, whereas their arms dealers must be respectable citizens? We should not produce arms and military equipment whereas other countries should, that is, they should tell us what and how much we are allowed to produce - which is another indicator of the complex position the Republic of Serbia is in – said the Minister of Defence emphasizing that he is eagerly awaiting the Belgian delegation to check all those allegations and realize that what those reports or false reports suggest is absolutely untrue.
According to Minister Vučević, this is a hybrid war.

- We are constantly being accused of selling to one side or the other. Constantly. Let me remind you of the false story about Turkey, that Krušik was selling 122mm artillery ammunition through Turkey. It turned out that the information provided in those bills of landing did not match. You could see that they were absolute counterfeits. But this is something that happens continuously. Let me also remind you of the fabricated Krušik affair that started in Bulgaria, which has a rival firm. But unfortunately, someone in Serbia enthusiastically welcomes such affairs and takes part in undermining their own country - said the Minister of Defence.

According to Minister Vučević, we look after our defence industry and we are able to supply our armed forces to a considerable extent using our own resources, which means that we are less dependent, i.e. a bit more independent, which is very useful in these circumstances.