Serbia’s leader defends right to buy weapons where he wants
Al Jazeera
President Aleksandar Vucic says country will continue arming itself with weapons from Russia, China and elsewhere – despite mounting fears in region over military build-up.
Serbia will continue arming itself with Russian, Chinese and other weapons, its president has said, despite fears in the region and the West that the Balkan country’s recent military build-up could lead to more tensions in a part of Europe that is still reeling from wars fought in the 1990s.
Opening an arms fair on Tuesday that coincided with a two-day summit marking the 60th anniversary of the first conference of non-aligned nations, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said Serbia was a “free and independent nation” that would not seek outside opinions about where it sources weapons.
“If anyone thinks that we should ask the US or the EU to decide about our weapons, let’s abolish our state,” Vucic said at the arms fair taking place at the same time as the summit commemorating the 1961 conference in Serbia’s capital, Belgrade.