Serbia is trying to sit on two chairs: Simultaneously military exercises with Russia and NATO forces

A joint exercise of the Serbian, Russian, and Belarusian armies begins in Serbia today. Some analysts assess that Serbia is sitting on two chairs, the Russian one and the NATO one, writes NAP.

The three armies will exercise until November 14, at several training grounds in Serbia.

- The goal of this exercise is to raise and improve operational capabilities, primarily in counter-terrorism operations - Brigadier General Zoran Veličković told reporters.

The portal of N1 television from Serbia reported that while three Ilyushins were being unloaded at Belgrade airport, a debate was underway in the Serbian Parliament about what political message was being sent with the new Russian-Serbian exercise?

The Serbian Minister of Defence says there are no messages.

- Serbia is militarily neutral, Serbia's strategic commitment is accession to the EU. We want the best for Serbia and in that sense, we want military exercises with everyone, we can do that, and we think it is our advantage compared to others, since others cannot do it with everyone, we can do it with everyone. This strengthens our operational capability and strengthens our ties with all these countries - believes the Minister of Defence Zoran Đorđević.

Nenad Milić from LDP explains that the EU has imposed sanctions on Russia due to its involvement in Ukraine, and Serbia supports the territorial integrity of that same Ukraine.

- And then we come to an absurd situation where we support the territorial integrity of Ukraine, and at the same time, with those whom Europe condemns for it, we are intensifying military cooperation that is inappropriate even for the military neutrality that we have declaratively proclaimed - says Milić.

At this moment, NATO is also conducting exercises in neighboring Montenegro. Soldiers from 32 member countries have been improving emergency management in Montenegro for three days. Serbia is also participating in these exercises with a smaller number of personnel, which is why, among other things, according to the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy, the assessments that Serbia is a training ground for exercises with Russia do not stand at all, reports NAP.