10.04.2021.
Minister Stefanović: It is incredibly hypocritical of Tadić and his party to talk about the Armed Forces
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Nebojša Stefanović’s statement: "It is incredibly hypocritical of Boris Tadić and his party to say anything about the Serbian Armed Forces, their equipment and future. At the time when Tadić was the president of Serbia and made decisions about the armed forces, they were considerably reduced and much weaker than they had been before, and the officers who had fought for Serbia and its freedom, were promptly retired, because the heroes were not to Tadić and his government’s liking.The fact that Pantsir is the first serious air defence system purchased after the Cube and Neva systems, which were last procured in the first half of the 1980s, also illustrates the gravity of the situation the armed forces were in. When Boris Tadić and his government made decisions about our security, Serbia’s skies were protected by no more than two fighter planes, because the others could not fly. I could write volumes about the state of tanks, armoured personnel carriers and artillery, the state of our defence industry, which produced much less than it does today and hardly participated in equipping our armed forces.
Only after Aleksandar Vučić came to power, first as the minister of defence, and later as the prime minister and president of Serbia, the strengthening of our armed forces and true care for Serbia’s defence began. Thanks to his efforts to make Serbia an internationally reputable and economically strong country, thanks to the agreements he reached with both eastern and western partners, we managed to procure the most modern air defence systems, drones, Airbus helicopters, Mi-35 combat helicopters, Mi-17 transport helicopters, and modernize our MiG-29s and procure new ones so that we now have 14 of them. Today we are able to modernize our Eagles and Super Seagulls, but also to start developing our own unmanned aerial vehicle Pegasus, Lazar and Miloš armoured vehicles, MRAPs and Little Miloš combat platforms. We are able to modernize our Oganj rocket systems, produce our own self-propelled howitzer Nora and develop new models of missile and artillery ammunition, which have significantly improved our armed forces’ strength.
It is difficult to talk about infrastructure facilities, which were left in ruins during Tadić's tenure, as well as uniforms, protective equipment and vehicles, which were completely substandard or even nonexistent. Not to mention how small salaries were in the Serbian Armed Forces and how little care was taken of soldiers.
I am proud to be part of Aleksandar Vučić's team today. It is our task to help our armed forces become stronger, even better equipped and strategically reliant on domestic production. I am especially proud that we are striving to increase the salaries of our soldiers, non-commissioned officers and officers amidst the difficult circumstances of Covid-19.
I do not want the public to think that we have no reaction to yesterday's traffic accident in which a Pantsir system vehicle overturned. Of course, we are all sorry that a part of this expensive system, which is the pride of our armed forces, has been damaged.
Of course, the prosecutor's office and the competent investigative bodies that will determine the circumstances and responsibility for this accident have been involved from the beginning. But I also want the public to know that members of this unit, as well as competent SAF officers, have done and are doing everything to get the whole system back into function as soon as possible. I also want the public to know that these are professionals, who were certainly most affected by this unpleasant occurrence, and people who have dedicated their lives to serving the homeland and their people."
