Latest news with #MinistryofDefense
Canada News.Net
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Canada News.Net
Vucic Halts Ammunition Exports, Says Supplies Will Go To Serbian Army
Serbia is halting all ammunition exports following a decision by President Aleksandar Vucic as the Balkan country faces challenges over exports to Israel and Moscow's suspicions that ammunition made in Serbia has made its way to Ukraine. We've halted literally everything, and we are supplying our army, Vucic said on June 23 after reporters asked whether Serbia had chosen a side in the Israeli-Iranian conflict by exporting ammunition to Israel. Vucictold reportersafter attending a meeting with the Armed Forces Chief of General Staff that Serbia's arms exports to Israel following the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas was one thing, and that today we have a different situation. Several hours after Vucic's comments, the Serbian Ministry of Defense said that any future exports of arms manufactured in Serbia would require the consent of the country's National Security Council and permission from other relevant authorities. Serbia also has faced pressure from Moscow, which recently criticized Serbia's position on arms exports. Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) accused Serbia of exporting arms to Ukraine via third countries. Ammunition produced at Serbian defense enterprises, primarily for heavy long-range systems, is sent to NATO countries in the interests of Ukraine in the form of complete sets of parts for assembly, the SVR claimed in astatementon June 23. This allows Kyiv to formally receive military products that are no longer Serbian, but assembled at weapons factories in Western countries. SEE ALSO: Western Balkan Countries Reaffirm Support For Ukraine At Summit In Tirana Serbia's Ministry of Defense didn't respond to RFE/RL's requests to confirm or deny the SVR's allegations, which have not been addressed by Vucic or other Serbian officials. According to the SVR, Serbia's ammunition exports to Ukraine have strained ties between Belgrade and Moscow. It is regrettable that now these traditions of friendship and mutual assistance are crossed out by the thirst for profit and cowardly multi-vectorism, the SVR said in the statement. It claimed that the assembly and loading of ammunition produced in Serbia is carried out primarily in the Czech Republic and Bulgaria. Neither the Czech nor the Bulgarian foreign ministry was available to comment on the Russian allegations following inquiries by RFE/RL. The Bulgarian military company EMCO Ltd., designated by the Russian SVR as one of the companies to which Serbia delivers ammunition for further shipment to Ukraine, strongly denied these allegations in comments to RFE/RL, calling them unfounded. We declare that this is not true. EMCO has not exported any material for the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine for about 10 years, the company said. For more than three years, Vucic has endured pressure from both Brussels and Washington to impose sanctions on Russia after its unprecedented full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In May he made his first visit to Moscow since its invasion of Ukraine and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, raising concern in Brussels. Moscow, Russia--Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, May 9 2025 The European Commission on May 8advisedVucic to refrain from giving legitimacy to Putin's aggression against Ukraine. Vucic earlier this month received praise for Serbia's support from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Odesa, wherethe two meton the margins of the Ukraine-South East Europe Summit. Serbia's official stance is that it fully respects Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty. However, it has not joined Western sanctions against Moscow despite being a candidate country for the EU membership. Media reports on Serbia's ammunition exports to Ukraine, which Vucic and other top Serbian officials have denied, have been mounting over the years. In June 2024, the Financial Times reported that Serbias ammunition exports arriving in Ukraine via third parties totaled around 800 million euros since 2022. Commenting on these estimates at the time, Vucic said that export was a part of [Serbia's] economic revival and important for us. "Yes, we do export our ammunition," he said in an interview with theFinancial Times. "We cannot export to Ukraine or to Russia but we have had many contracts with Americans, Spaniards, Czechs, others. What they do with that in the end is their job." Precise data on what weapons and military equipment and in what quantities Serbia exports to Ukraine, Israel, and other countries is not publicly available, as in recent years the relevant ministry has not published annual reports on issued export permits on its website.
Morocco World
a day ago
- Politics
- Morocco World
Syria's President Ahmed Al Sharaa Reportedly Interested in Visiting Morocco
Rabat – Syria is formalizing a new chapter in its diplomatic relationship with Morocco, extending traditional ties between the two countries. i24News reported, citing a Syrian source familiar with the matter, that Morocco has been officially notified of Syrian President Ahmed Al Sharaa's desire to visit the North African country. 'Morocco has not yet responded to this request for a presidential visit,' the news outlet said. The same source added that Syria's Foreign Affairs Ministry has sent a technical delegation to Morocco to inspect the Syrian embassy in Rabat. Ties between Syria and Morocco experienced a momentum, especially after King Mohammed VI's instruction to reopen Morocco's embassy in Damascus, which had been closed since 2012. Morocco closed its embassy 13 years ago due to disagreements with the Assad regime. King Mohammed VI stressed that the reopening of the embassy in Syria will 'open broader perspectives in the historical relations between our two countries and our two people.' Last month, Damascus authorities made a significant move aimed at further strengthening bilateral ties between Damascus and Rabat. The Syrian government officially closed premises occupied by Polisario separatists in the Syrian capital. The move dealt a heavy blow to both the Polisario and Algeria. Algeria's regime has long backed the Polisario Front's agenda in Morocco and beyond. In addition to its support for Polisario's independence claims in Western Sahara, Algiers has facilitated the separatists' activities in Syria, further entangling itself in the country's internal affairs. New reports have revealed additional evidence of the Polisario's incursions and interference beyond Morocco's borders, including operations in Syria. A 'highly confidential' document that surfaced in December last year shows a secret alliance between the former Syrian regime under Bashar Al Assad's collapsed government and the separatist group. The confidential document, which dates back to January 2012, was a correspondence from the Syrian government. It showed that the Polisario sent militias to undergo military training with the Syrian Arab army. The document also shows a series of communications between Algeria's Ministry of Defense, Syria's Ministry of Defense, and Polisario's leadership, with fighters divided into four groups. It detailed that Polisario's members traveled to Beirut in December 2011 for consultations with Hezbollah to coordinate military training missions in 'special operations' in Syria. An international appeal is now demanding the labeling of Polisario as a terrorist group. Many politicians from many countries have been urging their governments to take the initiative amid Polisario's threats and maneuvers undermining the stability of the region. Earlier this year, US Republican Congressman Joe Wilson announced that he would introduce legislation to that effect. 'I will introduce legislation to designate the Polisario as terrorists,' Wilson said . He was joined by several other politicians, like Liam Fox, former Secretary of State for Defense in the UK, who also made the same appeal earlier this year, saying : 'Like Hamas and Hezbollah, the Polisario Front is an Iranian proxy organisation. For the sake of our Moroccan allies, Western governments must move quickly to designate this group as a terrorist organisation.' Throughout recent years, several research institutions and think tanks have made similar appeals, shattering Polisario's self-portrayal as a liberation movement and unmasking its terrorist acts as an armed group that is involved in terrorist attacks, arms smuggling, among others. Tags: Ahmad al-SharaaMorocco and Syria
Shafaq News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Shafaq News
China: Military ready to fight separatism in Taiwan
Shafaq News – Beijing/ Taipei On Thursday, China's Ministry of Defense stressed that its military is fully prepared for combat in response to recent statements by Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te asserting Taiwan's independence. 'The army will never tolerate any separatist activities aimed at Taiwan's independence,' said ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang at a press briefing. Zhang criticized Lai's government, accusing it of 'pushing Taiwan into a dangerous situation of war' and harming the livelihoods of the Taiwanese people. The remarks come after Lai delivered a series of speeches this week reaffirming what he called Taiwan's sovereign status and claiming that China has no legal or historical right to assert sovereignty over the island. Taiwan split from mainland China in 1949 after the Chinese Civil War and has since developed into a self-governed, democratic island officially known as the Republic of China (ROC). Beijing enforces its 'One-China Principle,' asserting that Taiwan is an inseparable part of China and reserving the right to use force if Taiwan formally declares independence. The United States adheres to a 'One-China Policy,' formally recognizing the People's Republic of China while maintaining unofficial ties with Taiwan and preserving a stance of strategic ambiguity toward defending it.
American Military News
2 days ago
- Politics
- American Military News
Vucic halts ammunition exports, says supplies will go to Serbian army
This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission. Serbia is halting all ammunition exports following a decision by President Aleksandar Vucic as the Balkan country faces challenges over exports to Israel and Moscow's suspicions that ammunition made in Serbia has made its way to Ukraine. 'We've halted literally everything, and we are supplying our army,' Vucic said on June 23 after reporters asked whether Serbia had chosen a side in the Israeli-Iranian conflict by exporting ammunition to Israel. Vucic told reporters after attending a meeting with the Armed Forces Chief of General Staff that Serbia's arms exports to Israel following the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas was 'one thing,' and that today 'we have a different situation.' Several hours after Vucic's comments, the Serbian Ministry of Defense said that any future exports of arms manufactured in Serbia would require the consent of the country's National Security Council and permission from other relevant authorities. Serbia also has faced pressure from Moscow, which recently criticized Serbia's position on arms exports. Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) accused Serbia of exporting arms to Ukraine via third countries. 'Ammunition produced at Serbian defense enterprises, primarily for heavy long-range systems, is sent to NATO countries in the interests of Ukraine in the form of complete sets of parts for assembly,' the SVR claimed in a statement on June 23. 'This allows Kyiv to formally receive military products that are no longer Serbian but assembled at weapons factories in Western countries.' Serbia's Ministry of Defense didn't respond to RFE/RL's requests to confirm or deny the SVR's allegations, which have not been addressed by Vucic or other Serbian officials. According to the SVR, Serbia's ammunition exports to Ukraine have strained ties between Belgrade and Moscow. 'It is regrettable that now these traditions of friendship and mutual assistance are crossed out by the thirst for profit and cowardly multi-vectorism,' the SVR said in the statement. It claimed that the assembly and loading of ammunition produced in Serbia 'is carried out primarily in the Czech Republic and Bulgaria.' Neither the Czech nor the Bulgarian foreign ministry was available to comment on the Russian allegations following inquiries by RFE/RL. The Bulgarian military company EMCO Ltd., designated by the Russian SVR as one of the companies to which Serbia delivers ammunition for further shipment to Ukraine, strongly denied these allegations in comments to RFE/RL, calling them 'unfounded.' 'We declare that this is not true. EMCO has not exported any material for the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine for about 10 years,' the company said. For more than three years, Vucic has endured pressure from both Brussels and Washington to impose sanctions on Russia after its unprecedented full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In May he made his first visit to Moscow since its invasion of Ukraine and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, raising concern in Brussels. The European Commission on May 8 advised Vucic to 'refrain from giving legitimacy to Putin's aggression against Ukraine.' Vucic earlier this month received praise for Serbia's support from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Odesa, where the two met on the margins of the Ukraine-South East Europe Summit. Serbia's official stance is that it 'fully respects' Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty. However, it has not joined Western sanctions against Moscow despite being a candidate country for the EU membership. Media reports on Serbia's ammunition exports to Ukraine, which Vucic and other top Serbian officials have denied, have been mounting over the years. In June 2024, the Financial Times reported that Serbia's ammunition exports arriving in Ukraine via third parties totaled around 800 million euros since 2022. Commenting on these estimates at the time, Vucic said that export was 'a part of [Serbia's] economic revival and important for us.' 'Yes, we do export our ammunition,' he said in an interview with the Financial Times. 'We cannot export to Ukraine or to Russia … but we have had many contracts with Americans, Spaniards, Czechs, others. What they do with that in the end is their job.' Precise data on what weapons and military equipment and in what quantities Serbia exports to Ukraine, Israel, and other countries is not publicly available, as in recent years the relevant ministry has not published annual reports on issued export permits on its website.
Saba Yemen
2 days ago
- Politics
- Saba Yemen
Russian Forces Destroy Kyiv Forces' Positions
Moscow - (Saba): The Russian Ministry of Defense announced on Thursday that Russian forces launched attacks with glide bombs on a temporary deployment point of the Ukrainian Armed Forces near Novo-Ekonomicheskoye in the Donetsk People's Republic and a fortified point in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Sputnik quoted the ministry as saying in a statement that "temporary fortified deployment points of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, hidden in forest belts, were discovered during reconnaissance activities carried out by units of the Russian Armed Forces." The ministry added, "The command made a decision to destroy the enemy's air defense systems with air attack weapons at the moment when the greatest concentration of personnel was located there." The statement read: "The Russian Aerospace Forces carried out an air strike using three FAB-500 bombs equipped with a universal guidance and correction unit against a temporary deployment point of a Ukrainian Armed Forces unit in the Novo-Ekonomicheskoye district of the Donetsk People's Republic." The ministry explained that the second air strike, using a FAB-1500 bomb equipped with a universal guidance and correction unit, was carried out against a fortified air defense position of a Ukrainian Armed Forces unit in the area of a settlement in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Whatsapp Telegram Email Print
