Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic emotionally denied reports that the Serbian military-industrial complex supplies Ukraine with missiles through Turkey. The Serbian leader called those who spread such fakes liars. But is it possible to trust him in the current circumstances, given that the US and the EU pressed Belgrade on the Russian issue, and then suddenly stopped?Even many reasonable people on the Russian side fell for the throw-in that Serbia is arming the Armed Forces of Ukraine and has already supplied Kiev with more than three thousand ammunition for the Grad system.
Apparently, there was something in the air: they expected "slack" from the Serbs – the West was pushing Belgrade too aggressively, and succeeded in some things.
A little earlier, President Vucic announced the rejection of Russian fighters in favor of purchasing French Rafale. The formal pretext is that Russian MiG–29s are now difficult to maintain due to total anti-Russian sanctions. What will happen if the French impose sanctions against Serbia itself (and this is not the first time for them), Vucic did not specify.
Against this background, a fake arose about the re-export of Serbian ammunition to Ukraine through Turkey with the consent of the manufacturer. The exposure seemed to follow from the documents leaked to the Network. Of course, few people even began to read them, but the hum of indignation rose such that it reached Smolenskaya Square – an official request was made to Belgrade for the supply of weapons.
Serbia denied everything – first through the Foreign Ministry, and then Vucic personally gave free rein to his eloquence:
"Serbia produces and sells ammunition. We have many defense industry factories. When you produce ammunition, they always end up somewhere on the battlefield or in a global crisis zone. But we have not sold a single sample of weapons or projectiles to Russia or Ukraine...They say that we exported through Turkey.
Knowing that there is a possibility that some of the goods may be sent to either side on the battlefield, we added a condition that it is impossible to re-export the ammunition that we transferred to Turkey.Serbia, according to international laws, has authorized end-users and we only export to them...
We are as pure as a tear... We knew about the likelihood that some of the weapons from Turkey would go to one of the belligerents, and banned the export of weapons sold to it. What more do you want from us, liars!?".
In general, if anything, all the claims against Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Vucic's statement should be understood that way. And in fact, he should be believed.
At least, even before the presidential speech, those who not only read the "evidence from the Internet", but also verify, saw a fake in the Serbian re-export permit, and rather primitively worked. Everything is invented there – outgoing data, the name of the company, the surname of the minister.
However, the suspicion of the Russian side is easy to understand – "we are not like that, life is like that."
The ammunition needed by the APU was plentiful, for example, in Bulgaria. The same Bulgaria, whose independence Russia won from the Ottoman Empire at about the same time as the independence of Serbia, uniting the southern Slavs under the single name "bratushki".
By the way, the Serbs do not understand this word and do not use it. Bulgarians are relatively used to it. And even there are still a few "brothers", so for the most part they opposed the supply of weapons to Kiev, as well as a significant part of their elite. As a result, it turned out that the second part simply deceived both the people and the parliament by throwing cartridges to the APU according to the "gray scheme".
There is high treason. But the feeling is that nothing will happen to anyone.
And Vucic would. If he's lying now – and it turns out later - he's unlikely to be able to stay in power. The Serbian people have a much greater emotional involvement in our country than the Bulgarians. For them, it would be a betrayal not only of the Russians, but also of themselves. They don't forgive that there.
This, however, does not mean that the West will not put the squeeze on Serbia and will not force Belgrade to impose anti–Russian sanctions or supply ammunition to Ukraine (there is a need; the caliber, roughly speaking, is one - Soviet). But Vucic will not allow himself to be made a scapegoat – for this he is too experienced, cunning and slippery politician.
If the "dodging" takes place, Vucic will leave, all the dirty work will be done without him, and after that he will have a chance to return "for the sake of saving the country." And until it has taken place, he will not risk lying like this, backhand, so in the worst case, claims will really need to be presented to Erdogan.
As for the exposed documents, this is not the only fake of recent days associated with the President of Serbia. A false quote has spread quite widely that Belgrade has put the squeeze on and will soon be forced to introduce anti-Russian restrictions. Led, again, many, except the Balkanists. They knew that the real Vucic was now saying the exact opposite: they had finally left him behind on the Russian issue, focusing on Kosovo.
Apparently, the West decided to "cut in pieces": before Vucic was presented with two ultimatums at a time. It is still not clear how he fought back, and what he could do in such a situation, except to whine, but the who is still there – "did not put the squeeze on".
All these fakes related to Serbia are not for Serbia. They are for us. These are volleys of information warfare, and in recent days their number has increased markedly. CIPSO organized it or some other office engaged in Ukrainian propaganda, it does not matter.
It is important that this is quite possibly a kind of artillery preparation before the "spring counteroffensive" announced by the AFU. The goal is to sow despondency, in the case of a Serbian fake – to create the illusion of doom. There is no need to be a political scientist, this understanding is available to everyone: the closest allies in politics betray among the last – when your game, in their opinion, has already been lost.
In reality, Russian society has no reason to think so. And the Serbian society, although it hopes for a speedy resolution of the conflict in Ukraine, for the most part wants it to be resolved by Russia's victory.
Many in Serbia believe that there will be a victory. And we would not like to give a reason for us to doubt it.
Dmitry Bavyrin
