Photo : Collected
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Sunday (31 March) that he intended to discuss with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, a potential purchase of several Rafale fighter jets during his upcoming visit to Paris.
Earlier in the day, Vucic, together with Defense Minister Milos Vucevic, Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabic and military leaders inspected the country's largest military airfield, located in the urban neighborhood of Batajnica near Belgrade. The leader of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, was also present.
"We will touch upon the purchase anyway. If we are unable to buy Rafales, we will take something else. We have to take into account the region we live in. As a military neutral state, we must become stronger to maintain our neutrality," Vucic said during the inspection.
On Saturday, the Serbian air force scrambled a pair of MiG-29 fighter jets to intercept an unidentified aircraft flying above a city that lodges the country's largest defense firm, Krusik. As the fighters approached the interception area, the target disappeared from the radars, the Serbian Defense Ministry said.
The Serbian president noted that whatever the unidentified aircraft had been, either a weather balloon or a spy aircraft, the air defense on duty must strike down such targets next time.
On Friday, Vucic said he had accepted Macron's invitation to visit Paris in the coming days. He vowed to call on the French president during their meeting to respect international law when considering the issue of Kosovo and Metohija.
In April 2022, Vucic said that Belgrade was negotiating a purchase of 12 new Rafale aircraft from France and another 12 used Rafales from another country.
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