Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said on Monday that Serbia would not export weapons despite external pressure and confirmed that future arms exports will require approval from the National Security Council.
“Although I’ve said no, I’ve been told that in July there will be protests in state-owned arms factories to pressure us into resuming exports — because workers need salaries and livelihoods,” Vučić told reporters. “Going forward, we will only allow exports based on decisions by the National Security Council, and those decisions will be transparent and public.”
Vučić said Serbia had recently exported military equipment only to Cyprus and Azerbaijan, and that the weapons remained within those territories.
He announced plans to introduce black, grey, and white lists for arms exports, indicating tighter regulation. “You’ll now see the panic among those who stayed silent while benefiting financially and blaming me for everything. There will be no exports — but then there’ll also be no money for them. And they’ll blame me again,” Vučić said.
Vučić’s latest statements come amid growing international scrutiny following allegations that Serbian-made ammunition has ended up in Ukraine, despite Serbia’s official position of neutrality in the conflict.
In May 2025, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) accused Belgrade of supplying arms to Kyiv — a charge Serbian officials have denied. The accusations have strained relations with Moscow, a longstanding ally, and increased pressure from Western governments demanding transparency in arms trade.
A 2024 investigation by the Financial Times revealed that Serbian ammunition had reached Ukraine through third-party intermediaries, although Belgrade insists it does not directly supply weapons to either side in the war.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Serbia has attempted to strike a careful balance between East and West. Vučić has refused to join Western sanctions against Moscow or sign declarations condemning the invasion, citing historical ties with Russia. At the same time, he has publicly committed to Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction, underscoring Serbia’s complex geopolitical position.
In what he described as a move toward greater accountability, Vučić said future weapons exports would be strictly regulated through a new classification system and approved solely by Serbia’s National Security Council. The decision, he noted, was likely to provoke unrest within Serbia’s arms industry.
“There will be black, grey, and white lists,” Vučić said. “Some may not like it — those who were happy to take the profits while blaming me. But if there are no exports, there will also be no money. They’ll come back and say I’m to blame again.”
The tightening of arms controls comes amid internal political tensions. Vučić responded cautiously to news that prosecutors in Novi Sad had launched criminal proceedings against three opposition figures for allegedly attacking police during protests, saying the timing of judicial action was not within his control.
“If I had done that earlier, I would have been arrested in 45 minutes,” he said. “Now it takes 45 days, or more, for someone to decide to do their job.”