It's explained: There is no return of mandatory military service. Not yet

It's explained: There is no return of mandatory military service. Not yet

Let's recall that he recently said in an interview that he is thinking and discussing the eventual return of mandatory military service for men up to 30 years of age, as well as those from abroad. Since that statement caused a lot of attention, the minister explained today what it was about.

"Nowhere did I say that military service is returning. I said that it was being discussed, and it was being discussed even before I took office. It is being discussed at the level of what it would mean for the army, for the country, how much it would cost, how to equip the barracks for that...", the minister pointed out.

He reminded the public that mandatory military service was not abolished, but only suspended by the decision of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, and that it can be reinstated by its decision.

Therefore, no decision has been made on the return of military service, a large and serious analysis is being carried out because it is not a question of the fact that it will happen in the next, I don't know how many days, nor that it means that Serbia is close to conflict and wants to mobilize children, Vucevic repeated.

He reiterated once again that this possibility is only being considered due to insufficient manpower capacity of the army.

"It's not about war conditions, it's about training people to react to natural disasters, for example when we have garbage, floods... everyone expects the army to react, as well as the police. Then everyone says: well done guys… But there are no unlimited resources. That must be maintained," Vucevic said and asked what about the other tasks of the Serbian Armed Forces - guarding the borders, patrolling the skies...

"The decision to restore mandatory military service must also be made in consultation with the President of Serbia, and it is, I repeat, a very serious analysis", concluded Minister of Defense.