Comments come after bloc told Serbia, the only country not to sanction Russia, to ‘get concrete’ about accession bid.
Russia has called on Serbia to clarify public remarks made by right-wing populist ally President Aleksandar Vucic on the potential sale of mortar shells to the European Union amid concerns exports could wind up in Ukraine as Moscow’s war rages on.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday that Vucic’s comments required an explanation, noting that Serbia had promised Russia many times that its ammunition would not end up in Ukrainian hands.
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Vucic spoke of selling his country’s large stocks of ammunition to Europe in a televised interview with broadcaster Euronews that aired this week, confirming his readiness to start shipments even if they found their way to Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia in 2022.
“We need to sell it to someone, and we’ll sell it to whomever we can in order to earn some money, but we’ll try to take care and not see that ammunition end up in a war zone. But it happens from time to time,” he said on The Europe Conversation show.
“At the end [of the day], we’ll have to pay our workers,” he added. “Tell me, is there something that is not rational?”
Last week, Vucic also told Germany’s Cicero magazine that he had offered his “friends” in the EU the opportunity to sign a purchase agreement for the large stockpiles of ammunition – in particular, mortar shells – produced in his country.
Asked directly whether he would sell to Ukraine, Vucic said: “The buyers can do what they want with it.”
Back in May, Russia said it had evidence that Serbian defence companies were supplying Ukraine with ammunition, in a rare rebuke of a country traditionally seen as an ally.
The Kremlin spoke out after media outlets reported that hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Serbian ammunition had indirectly reached Kyiv via contracts with third countries.
Vucic’s recent comments appeared to signal a readiness to engage further with the EU in terms of security – albeit in a commercial capacity.
His country has been pursuing EU membership since 2009, but has simultaneously maintained strong ties with Russia.
EU progress report
On Tuesday, the European Commission presented its annual progress report on EU aspirants, giving Serbia a rap on the knuckles over high levels of “polarisation” in the country, which has been rocked by successive protests over the deadly collapse of a railway station roof that killed 16 people.
On Saturday, about 100,000 protesters marked the first anniversary of the tragedy at Novi Sad railway station, which had been undergoing renovation work. The event acted as a lightning rod for widespread frustrations over high-level corruption, with protesters calling on Vucic to step down.
On Wednesday night, government protesters called a counterprotest outside Serbia’s parliament in Belgrade, attended by senior government ministers. Supporters arrived from outside the city on buses, reportedly organised by Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party.
The European Commission report also called out “Serbian media outlets” and “political office holders” for promoting “an anti-EU narrative”, even as the country eyes accession.
‘Get concrete’
Last month, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told Serbia to “get concrete” about its proclaimed goal of joining the bloc.
“We live in a fractured world with a widening gap between democracies and autocracies,” von der Leyen said at a joint news conference with Vucic. “And you know very well where the European Union stands.”
Serbia remains the only country in Europe that has not imposed sanctions on Moscow over its war in Ukraine.
Hungary’s leader, Viktor Orban, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin as well as United States President Donald Trump, has been a reluctant and often divisive force within the EU as it pushes for punitive measures against Russia.
Earlier this year, Vucic was one of the few European leaders to visit Moscow for Russia’s World War II commemorations. Orban did not attend.
