Serbia is investigating whether to return to compulsory military service

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Alexander Vucic PHOTO: Reuters

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Authorities in Serbia are carefully examining the possibility of returning to compulsory military service, Serbian President Alexander Vucic said today after meeting with the military in the city of Nis, TASS reported.

Vucic noted that the majority of the population in the country supports the adoption of such a decision, BTA reported.

“We are considering the possibility (of introducing compulsory military service) or a significant increase in salaries for voluntary service in the army to attract an additional 5,000 soldiers, which would be enough. But we will strengthen our army, we must have another 5,000 soldiers annually, “he said.

According to the president, there is no final decision yet, because there are still many open issues. “First, I have to say that it would be good for our army if we could do it, but we have a lot of problems. For what year of birth would it work? If we take 2004-2005, then there will be between 35 and 38 “Thousands of recruits a year, and we can’t provide those 35,000, or 30,000, or even 20,000. At the moment, we have up to 10,000 people, so who will you fire and who won’t?” Vucic asked.

He added: “And how much will we pay them, although money is not the most important question, but whether we will be able to train these soldiers.” The president noted that there will be a significant increase in armaments in all parts of the ground forces, which means more troops will be needed.

Serbia has abolished compulsory military service since January 1st, 2011, but talks have been under way in recent years to restore compulsory military service.

Vucic also said that supplies from Russia of Cornet guided anti-tank missile launchers to Serbia would significantly strengthen the country’s ground forces. “Until the end of the year, we are waiting for the Cornet anti-tank installations, which will come from Russia,” he said.

The Serbian president did not rule out the purchase of 12 new fighters and five Russian Mi-35 helicopters for the Serbian army. He said the 14 MiG-29 fighters available were insufficient and two squadrons were needed. Vucic did not specify which fighters he intends to buy Serbia.

From 2018 to February 2020, Russia handed over to Serbia as military-technical assistance four Mi-35M helicopters, six MiG-29 fighters, three Mi-17B-5 transport helicopters, Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft missile systems, 30 tanks T72-MS and 30 armored personnel carriers BRDI-2MS, reminds TASS.

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