Serbia’s president announces halt to ammunition exports

BELGRADE: Serbia on Monday announced a halt in all exports of ammunition, after renewed Russian criticism of sales and the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran.

President Aleksandar Vucic said the exports, which were reportedly worth over $1.6 billion in 2023, had been redirected to the national military stockpile. “We have now stopped literally everything and are sending it to our army,” he told reporters.

“We´re not exporting anything. Everything is stopped. Everything is stopped, and from now on, there must be special decisions for anything to go forward,” he added. The defence ministry later confirmed the stoppage of “weapons and military equipment produced in Serbia” and that all exports will need authorisation from the ministries and National Security Council.

Israel and Iran are both allies of Belgrade, as is Russia, and the suspension is a sign of an increasingly difficult balancing act for Vucic. Russia´s foreign intelligence service restated criticism that Serbian ammunition exports had ended up aiding Ukraine.

It first claimed in May that hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Serbian ammunition has indirectly reached Kyiv via contracts with third countries. Vucic told journalists the suspensions would hit employment in Serbia but added: “Where should we export? I cannot to Asia, cannot to Africa, I cannot to Europe, I cannot to America.