Serbia Buys Mistral Missiles, Ready To Purchase More Defense Systems From France - Vucic

Serbia is buying Mistral missiles from France and is ready to acquire optical and electronic defense systems, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Monday during his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron's visit to the Balkan country

BELGRADE (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th July, 2019) Serbia is buying Mistral missiles from France and is ready to acquire optical and electronic defense systems, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Monday during his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron's visit to the Balkan country.

The visit of the French president to Serbia is the first since Jacques Chirac's in 2001. It was expected that the main topics of the talks would be the frozen dialogue between the authorities of Serbia and the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo, as well as the European integration of Serbia. The first conversation of Macron and Vucic behind closed doors lasted about an hour and a half. After the talks, the delegations of Serbia and France signed 22 documents in economy, culture and security, including two agreements on the delivery of the Mistral missiles by the French company MBDA, which are planned to be integrated into Serbian hybrid air defense system PASARS.

"We, if I'm not mistaken, will get 18 or 32 systems and 50 missiles. In any case, this is very significant for us, and I'm sure we can do a lot more in the future," Vucic said, adding that Serbia is ready and interested in purchasing optical and electronic defense systems from France.

The program of Macron's two-day visit also includes laying wreaths and flowers at the monuments to the heroes of World War I and French-Serbian friendship and a walk around Kalemegdan (Belgrade Fortress). He and Vucic will also jointly address students of the Regional Youth Cooperation Office.