30.04.2022.
Minister Stefanović: Serbia is capable of defending itself
Appearing in the “New Weekend Morning” at Pink television, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Nebojša Stefanović PhD sent a message that procuring armament does not represent a threat and that Serbia is quite clear – we threaten no one, we jeopardise no one, but we protect ourselves. As he pointed out, that claim is confirmed by the fact that we are purchasing only defensive weapons. “We are sending a message that even thinking about attacking Serbia would be insane, because Serbia is capable of defending itself”, Minister Stefanović pointed out.
- I would like to invite all the citizens to join us. The gates have been open since 8.30, and the entrance to Batajnica airfield is free, and the visitors will really be able to enjoy. The programme starts at 9.00 and it will last until 15.00. In the first part, the audience will see the flyby of our “Gazelles”, “Lasta” and “Galeb” aircraft, and more than 330 displayed military assets. The main part of the programme starts at 11.00 when they will have an opportunity to see the new capabilities of our armed forces, and air defence system FK-3, Pantsirs, MiG-29s and other assets, and for the first time fully armed three “Pegasus” aircraft, which are the first domestically produced unmanned aerial vehicles, which is in part made from foreign components but manufactured by Serbia. We perceive this technological advancement as extremely significant. The people have to understand that the armed forces that existed only two or three years ago cannot be the armed forces that will wage wars and defend the country in the future. That is why we have to develop the capacities which make the future – Minister Stefanović explained.
As he clarified, the unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned vehicles, robots, artificial intelligence, cyber warfare are the future and we have to work on that.
- In Batajnica, the people will see “Small Miloš“. That is an unmanned armed vehicle, a robot with caterpillar operated by man from a great distance, even behind some formation obstacles. We have developed several models both with 7.62mm and 12.7mm machine gun and with anti-armour rockets, and a logistic model as well which does not have to have a military usage. Therefore, you can send such robot to deliver ammunition, to extract a wounded person, or it can be in a factory in case of chemical accident. It is a highly reliable vehicle, which can be in the field before our soldiers. You can engage your enemy, and it has the state-of-the-art cameras and sensors, it can spot a target from a great distance. In future, technological processes and artificial intelligence will lead to a situation in which you operate a multitude of drones and robots, shortening the recall time and naturally, improving the power of your armed forces, or their fire supremacy – Stefanović said.
He explained that the dynamics of the development of defence industry implies that designing a new combat asset immediately demands designing the one that can oppose it, which represents an ongoing technological race.
The aim of our armed forces is to show that they are capable of defending their country
- What is our goal? We threaten no one. The goal of our armed forces is to show that they are capable of defending their country. To that end, in the previous period, we had a huge support of President Vučić, and we were in a position to increase the salaries three times, and to invest in arms and equipment, in new weapons. We threaten no one, nor do we wish to jeopardise someone. We respect all our neighbours and we send a message that “Serbia is safe”. Our armed forces are the guarantee that everybody, you, I, our children, our friends can live in their Serbia calmly and in peace – the minister said.
According to him, there are many countries that allocate great budgets for weapons, and this has not been the case only in the present, but in current circumstances this is just more evident.
- Now, it is only more visible, but countries invest vast billions in weapons. Some of our neighbours are buying new aeroplanes, some are purchasing other systems, and some are procuring new helicopters… Many are arming themselves. Thus, we cannot be a country that will say “It is great that everyone around us are buying weapons, not just around us, but everyone in the world are arming themselves, in order to protect themselves”. We have nothing against it, and let them protect what is theirs, but we have to be capable of defending our country – Stefanović said.
Commenting on the objections coming from the region that the “SHIELD 2022” is inappropriate and unnecessary, the minister of defence pointed out that there is nothing to object.
- It is not my fault that they are not capable of presenting something like that in their own armed forces, or their economies. President Vučić has demonstrated many times how much we want to cooperate with our neighbours, the Open Balkans project being the example of this, or when we gave the vaccines for Covid to all our neighbours, when no one in the world had enough of them, and also when there were shortages of food… Serbia works on building good relations in the region not only in word but in practice. President Vučić has been demonstrating a seriousness of a statesman’s policy that guarantees stability and economic growth. People have to understand that good relations with everyone in the region mean that we can increase our export; it means that our factories will work, that our people will be employed and that we can increase salaries and pensions. That is the policy of President Vučić. That is why the armament does not imply any threatening, and we have said it to everyone quite clearly that we threaten no one, jeopardise no one, but we protect ourselves. We are sending a message that even thinking about attacking Serbia would be insane because Serbia is capable of defending itself. That is perfectly clear because we are buying defensive weapons. Even the “Kornets” which are anti-armour systems and the air defence systems are the systems used to protect one’s territory, to protect one’s country – the minister of defence explained.
Owing to decisions of President Vučić Serbia emerged victorious from all crisis
Responding to questions, the minister underlined that Serbia is the only country that has not imposed sanctions on the Russian Federation because that is in our best interest.
- Of course, we are a country that wishes to go to the EU, that wishes to be an EU member, and we are working on that. We are not just talking about it, but we are working on reaching the standards that are required. But as you know, there is not complete unity in the very Europe regarding the sanctions to Russia, or in terms of gas and petroleum. They need gas and petroleum more, and they are avoiding imposing the sanctions… they are prolonging it even for a day if possible, for a week, a month. Our task is to have in mind everything that is taking place and to make all decisions exclusively in the best interest of our citizens – the minister stated.
He stressed that he has full confidence in the policy of President Aleksandar Vučić because his actions in the previous period have proved that he, both as the president and prime minister, knows to lead Serbia in complex times.
- Some often say “we respect and pursue the policy of President Vučić, but we believe that we have to do this, or we should not do that”. Wait a second, if you have faith in Aleksandar Vučić, and it has been proved that his is the hand that steadfastly leads Serbia through crises, you have to have confidence in Aleksandar Vučić. I have absolute faith in the policy which he advocates, I believe in what he says. Let that man lead Serbia, the citizens gave him the mandate to do so, and finally, in the past period, he, with his actions as the president, proved that he indeed knows to lead Serbia in complex times. You have heard a thousand times “now, he will not be able to do this, he will have to do that”, but it turned out that he is a man who did not yield, but he made every decision so that Serbia could emerge victorious from all those situations. At the end of the day, I am sending that same message. Let us allow our President make the best decision for Serbia, and we are here to support it – the minister stated.
When you have someone like Kurti, you can never tell what he will do tomorrow
Responding to the question if there are threats to the security of Serbia, Stefanović stated that threats are always present and that one has to think strategically.
- You do not have the luxury of saying “we are entirely safe, we need nothing more”. Many used to think that way, so we found ourselves in a situation that we were unable to adequately protect the entire territory of Serbia – the minister said adding that the best example was the procurement of FK-3 system with the range of 100 km in length and 27 in altitude.
- When you distribute those batteries strategically, the way our Air Force and Air Defence will do, you will, in laymen’s terms, have an umbrella to cover Serbia so that you are capable of engaging anyone who would want to threaten the security of Serbia. Why am I telling this to you? I am telling this because, when you think about security, you ask if there are threats. You do not have the luxury of saying that there will never be any threats whatsoever. You say – there are no threats at this moment. In reality, we have a single serious permanent security challenge in the territory of Kosovo and Metohija. Therefore, it is our serious challenge, because, when you have someone like Kurti you can never tell what he will do tomorrow, and if he will threaten the stability and security, primarily by endangering the lives of the Serbs living in Kosovo and Metohija - Stefanović said.
He pointed out that we have to be ready to protect our country not only by military means, since not all challenges are military in nature and cannot be resolved through a military response, but you have to be ready to take into consideration what may take place if it happens.
- All those scenarios imply that you have to have strong armed forces which represent a factor of deterrence. When you have strong armed forces, then they say “don’t touch Serbia”. When you arm yourself, then those who think that they can accomplish everything with weapons say “not now, don’t touch Serbia” This country has a stable state, and stable economy and strong armed forces. Let us find somebody else!” I do not wish for a war anywhere, but our job is to protect our country and to make sure that we will not wage wars – Nebojša Stefanović stated.
