Russian MoD: Serbia sold Georgia arms

The Russian MoD says that Serbia is one of the countries that helped Georgia militarily prior to the Ossetian conflict.

Izvor: Danas

Friday, 15.08.2008.

11:36

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The Russian MoD says that Serbia is one of the countries that helped Georgia militarily prior to the Ossetian conflict. Besides Serbia, the list of alleged helpers to Georgia before the South Ossetian crisis broke out were the U.S., the UK, France, Greece, Turkey, Israel, Lithuania, Estonia, Ukraine and others, reports the BBC. Russian MoD: Serbia sold Georgia arms As far as Serbia’s involvement was concerned, the ministry said that Kalashnikovs produced in Kragujevac’s Zastava factory were used in attacks on South Ossetia and Russian troops. In that context, the BBC quotes former Foreign Minister Vuk Draskovic, who said that “Russian diplomats warned that the Georgians were shooting down their (Russian) helicopters with bullets manufactured in Serbia.” “I stated that it was a bad idea selling weapons to a country that was in conflict with Russia, our biggest ally,” Draskovic told the BBC, pointing out that the government (in which he had been foreign minister) had initially blocked the deal, and then approved it following a strike by workers at Zastava Weapons. Zastava were caught rather off guard by the Russian Defense Ministry’s statement yesterday, but even more so by Draskovic’s claims, which they say are “groundless”. Zastava Weapons Director Rade Gromovic said that his factory had not exported infantry weaponry to Georgia for decades, which, he said, could be corroborated by the Serbian Defense Ministry that used to be responsible for issuing licenses and approval for the export of domestic arms. “I don’t know how our Kalashnikovs got to Georgia. Maybe Georgia got them from Croatia or Bosnia, whose territorial defenses, during the former Yugoslavia, possessed such weapons. Zastava Weapons and the Serbian state cannot however tell former Yugoslav republics, which have long been independent states, what to do with their military surpluses,” said Gromovic.

Russian MoD: Serbia sold Georgia arms

As far as Serbia’s involvement was concerned, the ministry said that Kalashnikovs produced in Kragujevac’s Zastava factory were used in attacks on South Ossetia and Russian troops. In that context, the BBC quotes former Foreign Minister Vuk Drašković, who said that “Russian diplomats warned that the Georgians were shooting down their (Russian) helicopters with bullets manufactured in Serbia.”

“I stated that it was a bad idea selling weapons to a country that was in conflict with Russia, our biggest ally,” Drašković told the BBC, pointing out that the government (in which he had been foreign minister) had initially blocked the deal, and then approved it following a strike by workers at Zastava Weapons.

Zastava were caught rather off guard by the Russian Defense Ministry’s statement yesterday, but even more so by Drašković’s claims, which they say are “groundless”.

Zastava Weapons Director Rade Gromović said that his factory had not exported infantry weaponry to Georgia for decades, which, he said, could be corroborated by the Serbian Defense Ministry that used to be responsible for issuing licenses and approval for the export of domestic arms.

“I don’t know how our Kalashnikovs got to Georgia. Maybe Georgia got them from Croatia or Bosnia, whose territorial defenses, during the former Yugoslavia, possessed such weapons. Zastava Weapons and the Serbian state cannot however tell former Yugoslav republics, which have long been independent states, what to do with their military surpluses,” said Gromović.

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