DefMin says Serbian military can defend country

NEWS 19.03.202014:15
Ministarstvo odbrane

Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin said on Thursday that the Serbian military is at full combat capacity and prepared to protect the country despite its engagement during the state of emergency imposed to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

The Serbian military deployed troops on the border and around medical facilities and migrant camps to relieve the police during the state of emergency.

Vulin told the pro-government TV Pink that “the military has not lost a single part of its combat readiness and combat capabilities despite securing medical facilities, 17 migrant centers, deploying on the border, setting up quarantines and managing military health care facilities”. “We are capable of protecting the country, protecting our airspace, protecting Serbs wherever they live so nobody should even think that the Army of Serbia is busy doing other things,” the Defense Minister said.  

Vulin also recalled President Aleksandar Vucic’s address in which he said how the European Union had behaved towards Serbia. “The EU has shown that it takes care only of itself, that there is no inter-Europe solidarity because every member takes care of itself,” he said and added that “it would be reasonable to expect all the candidate countries and others who want membership to at least be able to buy things from the EU”.  

“We did not ask for aid and gifts but to buy respirators and other needs and they said: No, we only have enough for ourselves,” Vulin said.