Vucic: Defence cooperation with Hungary highly developed, heading towards military alliance

BELGRADE - Serbia's most developed and most intensive defence cooperation in the region is with Hungary, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Tuesday after a meeting with Hungarian Defence Minister Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczky in Belgrade, and expressed the confidence an agreement on joint activities would be followed by the forging of further close ties and the creation of a military alliance between Serbia and Hungary.

"Of course, the Hungarian side, the Hungarian and Serbian parliaments and everyone else, will have a say in that," Vucic said at a press conference with Szallay-Bobrovniczky.

He said a document operationalising a 2023 strategic agreement on defence cooperation had been signed earlier in the day.

"I am honoured to have the opportunity to speak with and host Kristof Szallay-Bobrovniczky, the defence minister of Hungary, because this is a continuation of our very significant cooperation. The strategic defence cooperation between Serbia and Hungary is one of the most important aspects of our comprehensive strategic cooperation. Therefore, of all countries in the region, in terms of the number and the significance of joint activities, Serbia's most developed and most intensive defence cooperation is with Hungary," Vucic said.

He noted that the key elements of that relationship were military-to-military cooperation, reflected in implementation of bilateral and multinational exercises, and cooperation in military technology, reflected in acquisitions of arms and weapons systems.

"For this year, we have agreed the highest number of activities, 79 so far - almost twice as many as in 2023, when we had 48, and what we have agreed with our Hungarian friends is enormously significant to us," Vucic said.