Serbia exports all the weapons it can produce for sale, said Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić.

He stated that the interest is so high that Serbia can sell everything it produces for the next 30 years through just one contract.

“The arms race began when the world realized that Russian President Vladimir Putin would not be easily defeated. Therefore, everyone is arming themselves five times faster,” Vučić said during a visit to the Military Technical Institute in Belgrade over the weekend.

Speaking about domestic production, Vučić said during the exhibition of military equipment that the goal is to produce 5,000 kamikaze drones developed by experts from this institute in the future. The Serbian leader said that the plan is to introduce the unmanned aerial vehicle “Sparrow” into operation by September.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2024, Vučić has continuously stated that Serbia does not export arms to Kiev and Moscow. Immediately after the outbreak of the war between Russia and Ukraine, Belgrade imposed a moratorium on holding military exercises with foreign partners.

“Cooperation with Russia has declined”

The State Secretary in the Ministry of Defense of Serbia, Nemanja Starović, said on March 9 that Serbia has had substantial military cooperation with NATO members in the last two years.

“Given the new circumstances, Serbia’s cooperation with Russia has not developed significantly since the start of the war in Ukraine,” Starović told Voice of America.

Before the war in Ukraine began, the Serbian Armed Forces conducted military exercises inside and outside the country with the armies of former Eastern bloc countries, Russia, and Belarus, as well as Western states such as the United States and other NATO members.

Serbia has been part of NATO’s Partnership for Peace program since 2006. This program is considered the first step towards membership in the alliance. In 2007, Serbia declared itself a militarily neutral state.