After Romania refused, Russia used the Hungarian airspace to deliver armored vehicles for Serbia, news agency Associated Press reported.
Media reports say Russia flew the ten armored vehicles -part of a larger contingent- to Serbia last week on its transport planes using Hungarian airspace after Romania’s refusal to let them be transported via the Danube because of the international sanctions in place against Moscow.
Romania, likewise to Hungary, is a NATO member, while Serbia claims military neutrality despite close ties with Moscow.
“The most important thing for us is that we managed to transport the vehicles to Serbia,” Aleksandar Vučić said. “How and which way they came, that is our business.” The Serbian president also thanked Vladimir Putin for the “strengthening of the country’s combat capability.”
AP notes, that while the Russian Ambassador to Belgrade claimed that the strengthening of Serbia’s military is the “strengthening of the security of the region,” NATO fears that Serbian military development, with the help of Russia, could threaten peace in the region.
The Ministry of Defense has yet to comment on the matter.
featured image: Putin and Vučić (illustration); via Mihail Klimentyev/ EPA/ MTI