Serbia Rejects Claims It Might Provide Jets to Ukraine
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has stated that allegations regarding Belgrade's plan to send MiG-29 fighters to Kiev through Paris are entirely untrue. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
President Aleksandar Vucic has firmly denied claims that Serbia will send MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine, labeling the reports as fabrications.
Reports from multiple Balkan outlets suggested that a recent deal to purchase 12 Rafale fighter jets from France included an agreement for Serbia to trade in 36 of its Russian-made MiGs, which would then be supplied to Ukraine.
“We have 14 of ‘TwentyNines’ that have been refurbished, upgraded and operational,” Vucic stated while inspecting a highway construction site in western Serbia. He added, “To give them to someone? Whoever says so is a liar and completely out of his mind. It’s made up.”
Vucic emphasized that there was a time when Serbia lacked operational MiG-29s and had to hold an air show in 2013 featuring MiG-21s, which he referred to as “flying coffins.” In 2017, Russia donated six jets to Serbia to compensate for losses incurred during NATO's 1999 attack.
Defense Minister Bratislav Gasic also dismissed the notion of Serbia sending MiGs to France, calling it “yet another blatant lie.” He affirmed, “The MiGs that Serbia owns are Serbian, and we will never give them to anyone.”
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin, who met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Vladivostok, characterized the claim regarding the MiGs as “an underhanded lie” aimed at jeopardizing the relationship between Belgrade and Moscow.
The rumors began circulating after French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to Belgrade last week. Most reports attributed the information to former Russian lawmaker Elena Panina, who shared it on her Telegram channel. Panina sourced her claims from another Telegram account, Octagon Media, which did not verify the information. An identical post has also been seen on Ukrainian social media, where it was attributed to supposed “reliable Ukrainians.”
The Serbian government maintains a stance of military and political neutrality. It aims to join the EU but has refused to acknowledge Kosovo as an independent state, despite pressure from Brussels. Additionally, Serbia has not imposed sanctions on Moscow, despite significant pressure from the United States and the EU, and notably, all but one of Serbia's neighbors are members of NATO.
Thomas Evans contributed to this report for TROIB News
Reports from multiple Balkan outlets suggested that a recent deal to purchase 12 Rafale fighter jets from France included an agreement for Serbia to trade in 36 of its Russian-made MiGs, which would then be supplied to Ukraine.
“We have 14 of ‘TwentyNines’ that have been refurbished, upgraded and operational,” Vucic stated while inspecting a highway construction site in western Serbia. He added, “To give them to someone? Whoever says so is a liar and completely out of his mind. It’s made up.”
Vucic emphasized that there was a time when Serbia lacked operational MiG-29s and had to hold an air show in 2013 featuring MiG-21s, which he referred to as “flying coffins.” In 2017, Russia donated six jets to Serbia to compensate for losses incurred during NATO's 1999 attack.
Defense Minister Bratislav Gasic also dismissed the notion of Serbia sending MiGs to France, calling it “yet another blatant lie.” He affirmed, “The MiGs that Serbia owns are Serbian, and we will never give them to anyone.”
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin, who met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Vladivostok, characterized the claim regarding the MiGs as “an underhanded lie” aimed at jeopardizing the relationship between Belgrade and Moscow.
The rumors began circulating after French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to Belgrade last week. Most reports attributed the information to former Russian lawmaker Elena Panina, who shared it on her Telegram channel. Panina sourced her claims from another Telegram account, Octagon Media, which did not verify the information. An identical post has also been seen on Ukrainian social media, where it was attributed to supposed “reliable Ukrainians.”
The Serbian government maintains a stance of military and political neutrality. It aims to join the EU but has refused to acknowledge Kosovo as an independent state, despite pressure from Brussels. Additionally, Serbia has not imposed sanctions on Moscow, despite significant pressure from the United States and the EU, and notably, all but one of Serbia's neighbors are members of NATO.
Thomas Evans contributed to this report for TROIB News
