Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said that often, while listening to interviews by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, she is not sure whether one person or several are speaking, as some statements are seen in Moscow differently than those given in interviews from "other geographical points of view."
Zakharova referred to Vučić's recent statements, who in an interview with the German magazine Cicero said that Serbia was ready to sell ammunition to European partners, even if the weapons ended up in Ukraine.
"We have received repeated promises from Serbian leaders that the export of weapons and ammunition was strictly controlled and would not be used against Russian soldiers in Ukraine," she said at a press conference on Friday.
The spokeswoman clearly stated that she cannot accept that Russian soldiers, who have historically helped the Serbian people, be harmed or killed by Serbian weapons, and that this should not happen either by chance or by some unbelievable circumstance.
Zakharova also stressed the importance of Belgrade respecting the promises made by Vučić, adding that those promises were not simply statements about a specific country or individual, but a representation of the will of a sovereign state and its people. She said that these situations should not jeopardize the historical relations and cooperation between the two countries.
In conclusion, Zakharova hinted that there may have been misunderstandings by the media, and that the press service of the Serbian presidency should provide clarifications to clarify whether everything was quoted correctly.
also "A knife in the back": How Russia raged against SerbiaRussia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) stated in June that Serbian companies have increased indirect arms supplies to Ukraine through EU countries, such as the Czech Republic and Bulgaria.
At the same time, Belgrade announced that it had suspended the export of ammunition, weapons and military equipment produced in Serbia, following criticism from Moscow and during the Israeli-Iranian conflict.
Belgrade has repeatedly denied that Serbia directly exports weapons to Ukraine or Russia, and has stated that it cannot influence whether Serbian weapons, after being sold to third countries, end up on the Ukrainian front.
