A sale of several Rafales could be concluded during the official visit to Serbia of Emmanuel Macron, who arrived in Belgrade this Thursday, August 29.
It is a sale that could bring in several billion euros. While the President of the Republic arrived in Belgrade this Thursday, August 29 for an official visit, the President of Serbia affirmed that he hoped to conclude the purchase of several Rafale, French warplanes. “It is a huge contract for our country and it is not a small contract even for France,” Aleksandar Vucic told AFP.
How many planes and how much?
It is not yet known how many Rafales would be involved in this contract, but the Serbian Minister of Defense has mentioned the number of 12 French planes in order to replace its aging fleet. In 2023, the President of Serbia had said he was ready to pay 3 billion euros. “Most of our aircraft, if not all, all of our interceptor planes and all of our combat aircraft came from Russia and we have to evolve, change our habits and everything else in order to prepare our army,” he said.
This sale would be a first for a country so close to Russia, and a strong signal from Serbia, which has been a candidate for the European Union for twelve years. Through this contract, the country would show that it wants to “firmly anchor itself to Europe”, according to the Elysée. A position that is not obvious, because Serbia has always refused to apply sanctions against Russia since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.
Positions to be clarified
The question of its position towards Kosovo also arises. Formerly a Serbian province, this territory was recognized in 2008 by the majority of European countries, unlike Serbia. According to Emmanuel Macron, Serbia would have tried to do “its part of the way” for a normalization “prior to the realization of the European perspective of the two countries”.
This Thursday evening, Emmanuel Macron and Aleksandar Vucic are expected to discuss in order to clarify Serbia’s position on these different issues. During the Serbian president’s official visit to France last April, Emmanuel Macron said he wanted to be convinced that the country is “within the European Union and nowhere else”.