Serbia opposes restrictions on the sale of ammunition to third countries

Serbian Prime Minister Miloš Vučević has called for the continuation of the sale of Serbian ammunition to third countries.

Miloš Vučević told Agence France-Presse that Serbia is not a party to the war in Ukraine, despite the use of Serbian shells in the war.

According to Vučević, the sale of Serbian shells “is not a contribution from Serbia to one of the warring parties.”

“I do not want to prevent companies from selling our ammunition to Spain, the Czech Republic, the United States… because it is not prohibited and it is not immoral for us to produce weapons and ammunition, which, unfortunately, are also used where there is a war,” the Serbian Prime Minister added.

Last weekend, it was reported that Serbia is increasing its sales of ammunition to third countries, which then send it to Ukraine.

According to estimates provided by the Financial Times, since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Serbian exports of ammunition that entered Ukraine through third parties have amounted to about €800 million.

Following the publication of these data, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported on talks with Serbia about possible security threats due to the volume of supplies that could enter Ukraine. The Kremlin promised to clarify this information with its “Serbian friends.”

President’s position

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić had previously acknowledged that Serbian weapons could enter Ukraine through third countries, but the volume of supplies was first reported only after a publication in the Financial Times.

“This is part of our economic revival, and it is important for us. Yes, we export our ammunition. We can’t export to Ukraine or Russia… but we had a lot of contracts with the Americans, the Spanish, the Czechs, etc. What they do with it in the end is their business,” the Serbian president said.

When asked whether the figure of €800 million was correct, he said that it was not for one year, but “maybe over two or three years.”

As previously reported, the Ukrainian Defense Forces are using Serbian 30-mm grenades for AGS-17 automatic grenade launchers and new ER Grad 2000 122mm rockets.

It is stated that the ammunition was purchased from the Serbian Krušik enterprise by the Canadian JNJ Export & Import company.