Serbia is preparing for the military exercise “Platinum Wolf”, in which the Serbian Army will participate along with members of the armed forces of other countries, some of which are NATO members.
The United States will participate in this military exercise with 100 soldiers, as confirmed by the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade.
“Serbia has made a choice to be part of the West, and this includes further integration with Euro-Atlantic security structures and partner armies,” said a spokesperson of the U.S. Embassy.
He emphasized that the exercise is “directly linked to Serbia’s existing participation in missions worldwide”.
“The more we train together, the more effective we will be in achieving our common goal of peace, regional stability, and the preservation of a free and peaceful Europe,” emphasized the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade.
It also highlighted that “the greater Serbia’s integration into Euro-Atlantic security structures, the shorter its path to final membership in the European Union will be”.
While the U.S. welcomed Serbia’s decision, the Kremlin warned that it “would not go unnoticed” in Russia.
“As for the exercises, we will certainly follow them very carefully,” said Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson, on April 6th.
At the time, Peskov stated that Belgrade was under “unprecedented pressure to bring Serbia to the side of those who adhere to an anti-Russian stance”.
At that time, the official Belgrade announced that it would not impose sanctions against Russia but that the Serbian army, considering its policy of military neutrality, would suspend all military exercises with foreign partners, both from the East and the West, until further notice.
What is “Platinum Wolf”?
The tactical exercise “Platinum Wolf 2023” will be held at a military base near Bujanovac. The Serbian Army will participate as the host, along with 11 partner countries.
From 2014 to 2021, it has been conducted seven times in Serbia.
The purpose of the exercise is to maintain the achieved level of interoperability of units of the Serbian Army for participation in multinational operations.
The Serbian Army has been operating according to NATO standards for over 15 years, which are also used in United Nations peacekeeping missions and all other organizations.
The “Platinum Wolf” exercise was last held in 2021.
At that time, in addition to Serbia as the host, participants included members of the armed forces of Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Romania, the United States, Slovenia, the United Kingdom, France, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
