Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic stated that Serbia has no intention of attacking anyone, nor does it perceive Croatia as an enemy, but it will continue arming itself to deter any potential aggression.
Vucic made this remark in an interview while responding to a question about Croatian Defense Minister Ivan Anusic‘s statement that Serbia poses a threat to Croatia because it produces and purchases significant quantities of weaponry, because, according to him, “no one arms themselves without reason.”
“We respect Croatia; it has an exceptionally strong military. However, in line with the change in our army’s doctrine, the Serbian Armed Forces must be stronger than a significant portion of our neighbors combined,” Vucic said.
He added that Serbia will continue strengthening its military to prevent situations like those in 1995 or 1999 from happening again.
“We will not attack anyone, but we don’t want anyone to even consider committing aggression against our country again,” Vucic stated.
Responding to Anusic‘s comment that Serbs are “half-starved,” Vucic remarked that Serbia is experiencing faster growth than Croatia, though he acknowledged that Croatians have been ahead of Serbia for decades.
Regarding the escalation of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, Vucic assessed that the situation is deteriorating and increasingly spiraling out of control.
“Every statement, from either side, is not de-escalatory, and I fear this is leading to greater conflict, more problems, and what we wanted to avoid – a broader-scale conflict,” Vucic said.
He emphasized that Serbia must strengthen its military and prepare for potential challenges.
Speaking about shelters in Serbia designed to withstand nuclear and atomic strikes, Vucic described the current state of these facilities as disheartening and acknowledged the need for urgent improvements.
“For years, no investments were made in these shelters because no one imagined such a situation could arise,” Vucic said.
“This is a systemic failure that we must correct,” the Serbian President concluded, Klix.ba writes.
E.Dz.
