France will sell Mistrals to the Serbian army
Serbia will purchase French Mistral MANPADS for the needs of its army, designed to destroy low-flying enemy helicopters and aircraft. This is one of the main results of the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Belgrade.
The acquisition of the Mistrals will be the first arms purchase that Serbia has made from a Western country in the last 30 years. “We continue as during Tito’s rule. We buy weapons both in the East and in the West,” Serbian military analyst Miroslav Lazansky commented to Informer.
In total, out of 25 agreements that will be signed after the visit of the French president, five relate to military-technical cooperation.
“We are interested in purchasing optical-electronic equipment. We have little money and we want to maintain the military neutrality of our country. France, which is our ally, is good for cooperation. I am very pleased with the purchase of Mistral missiles. We will receive 18 launchers and 50 missiles. This is very important and there is a lot we can do in the future. I am very happy that I hosted Macron and that I was able to speak frankly with him on all the key issues. I hope that a strong France and President Macron will help us,” said Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.
Macron, in turn, promised to initiate a new attempt at negotiations on the fate of Kosovo with the participation of Serbia, France, Germany and the top of the Albanian separatists.
“We must return to finding a compromise. The dialogue must continue, and the two parties must decide what will be included in the final agreement. France and Germany are ready to support the resumption of dialogue, which should receive a concrete solution in the next few months. I will put my efforts on this issue because I respect your country very much,” Macron promised.
According to Vucic, the next meeting on the Kosovo issue is planned for September.
Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic expressed hope that Macron will be able to get the Albanian separatists to lift the economic blockade of Serbian enclaves.
“I will never believe that Europe cannot force Haradinaj (Prime Minister of the so-called Kosovo, - ed.) lift the blockade, which has suspended the resolution of the most important political issue. I hope that Macron will be able to interrupt this kind of game by Pristina,” Dacic said, adding that he expects France will not put pressure on Serbia to recognize Kosovo’s independence.
In addition to political issues, a lot of attention was paid to economic aspects in Belgrade. In particular, an agreement was signed on the construction of a metro in the capital of Serbia. According to the document, France, together with China, will invest 4,3 billion euros in the construction of two metro lines. Work is expected to begin in the first months of next year. The Belgrade metro will be built by the French company Alstrom together with the Chinese company Power China.
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