DefMin says Serbia’s military might not a threat

Gasic told the latest issue of the Defense Ministry’s Odbrana magazine that the military is “exclusively an instrument of deterring from any kind of aggressive intent against Serbia and the Serbian people”. According to him, the strategic development of the defense system was defined in 2012 and would not be changed.

The minister said his attention will primarily be on ministry and military personnel, upgrading weapons and equipment and strengthening defense capabilities. “Our military has to be strong, capable and ready to prevent any attempt to endanger the freedom and independence of Serbia,” Gasic said.

Gasic said he supports the reinstatement of mandatory military service because experts in the military and defense ministry assured him that was necessary to meet security challenges.

He denied claims that the purchase of Rafale fighters from France would violate Serbia’s military neutrality, saying that those claims reflect the incompetence of their authors.