Romania blocks, Hungary allows passage of Russian military shipment to Serbia

Transported to Serbia by Russian aircraft through Hungarian airspace, the BRD-2 counterintelligence group is part of a much larger shipment.

The remainder of this shipment are about 20 other counterintelligence vehicles and dozens of improved Soviet-era T-72 tanks, which were blocked on the Romanian border. According to a Romanian Foreign Ministry statement, Romanian customs officials did not allow their passage across the Danube River due to European Union sanctions on Russia in connection with its actions in Ukraine.

Although Serbia expressed disappointment over the blocked share of the shipment, Romania, EU and NATO members, was simply implementing trade restrictions mandated by the European Union.

Hungary, simultaneously a member of the EU and NATO, defended its decision to allow Russian equipment to pass through its airspace despite European sanctions against Russia.

Addressing reporters in Budapest on Wednesday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's cabinet chief, Gergely Gulyás, said the shipment had been approved because the shipment would pass through Hungarian airspace on a civilian, not military plane.

“Of course we are notified of the entry of a civilian plane into Hungarian airspace, but this was a full-fledged announcement to the protocol, which should simply be accepted”, Gulyás said, explaining that for non-military transits to airspace there is no need for a special permit.

Asked whether Hungary would be required for violations, an EU spokesman said:“We have the first reports. Without comment on the specifics, implementing EU restrictive measures is the responsibility of EU member states”.

NATO officials also said little about Russia's recent efforts to help Serbia strengthen its military.

“NATO fully respects the sovereign right of all countries, including Serbia, to decide on their political and security agreements”, a spokesman said NATO for the Voice of America. “At the same time, NATO and Serbia are partners. For example, Serbia was an organiser of our largest civilian emergency exercise, which helped NATO allies Serbia and other partners increase readiness to deal with natural disasters, such as floods and fires”.

The spokesman added that NATO has been working with Serbia to reform NATO forces and security institutions, “training also helps Serbian soldiers contribute to international peacekeeping missions”.

“We have invested millions of euros to help Serbia destroy more than 200 tonnes of ammunition”, the spokesman said.

Serbia, which claims to be military neutral, has already received six MiG-29 fighter aircraft from Russia and is negotiating additional arms purchases from Russia, including fighter helicopters and transport, as well as air defence systems.

Some experts say Serbia's military strengthening, supported by Russia, threatens peace in the fragile Balkan political region.

<x0) NATO in the Atlantic Council organisation.

This is important and a very necessary sign of European unity and backbone against Russia's efforts to militarize and further destabilise the Balkans,” he said. The next “EU states must follow Romania's example and fulfil their commitments to European democracies. Russia's permission to move more tanks to Southeast Europe is dangerous and threatens the national security of all democracies in the region”.

Serbia officially wants to join the European Union, but under political and propaganda pressure from Moscow, Belgrade is constantly slipping towards the Kremlin and its goal of keeping Balkan countries out of NATO.

In the 1990s, during bloody wars in the former Yugoslavia, Serbia was at war with its neighbours Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo.

Speaking at the agreement ceremony on Monday at the Serbian Army base in Nis, located about 88km east of Kosovo's border, Russia's ambassador to Belgrade, Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko, said Moscow “is ready and will always be ready for military and technical co-operation with Serbia”.

For President Vucic, military equipment seemed to be the most important element of all.

The most important thing for us is that we have managed to transport vehicles to Serbia”, President Vucic told reporters. “It's our job how and how they achieved”, he added.

US State Department officials have not yet responded to the Voice of America's beggars for a response to the issue. / VOA/