President Aleksandar Vučić of Serbia announced that Serbia expects to sign a “major” deal for French Rafale fighter jets during a visit this week from French President Emmanuel Macron. The agreement is estimated to be worth billions of dollars.
Vučić made these comments to Agence France Presse (AFP) ahead of Macron’s two-day visit to Serbia, which is set to start on Thursday. The two leaders are expected to sign a series of bilateral agreements.
The Serbian president did not specify the number of Rafale jets to be purchased or the final cost of the contract if it is signed.
“This is a major contract for this country and not a small one for France either,” he said, describing what is anticipated to be a multimillion-dollar deal.
In the past, Serbia’s Ministry of Defense stated that the country was seeking to buy 12 jets from Paris to replace its aging fleet of fighter aircraft.
Last year, Vučić hinted that Belgrade was ready to spend around three billion euros on the potential purchase of French fighter jets.
“Most of our aircraft, or all of our interceptors and fighter planes, came from Russia, and now we need to change ourselves, our habits, and everything else to prepare our army,” Vučić added.
If signed, this deal would be the latest in a series of arms agreements involving Europe, China, and Russia, facilitated by an increase in spending by Belgrade over the past decade.
