Russian Ambassador to Serbia Denies Official Serbian Arms Supplies to Ukraine

MOSCOW, August 18. /TASS/. Belgrade is not supplying weapons to the Kiev regime, but leaks through gray-market channels cannot be ruled out, Russian Ambassador to Serbia Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko stated.

"Naturally, this practice never existed, and it will not resume on the part of Serbia’s official leadership or through official channels," he said on the Vesti news program. "The main thing is that, politically, Belgrade understands the complexity of the issue. Belgrade has no intention of supporting Ukraine militarily whatsoever. And Belgrade is ready to monitor the situation and ensure these channels are transparent," the diplomat noted.

According to the ambassador, there had been one source of friction in relations between Moscow and Belgrade: the appearance of Serbian-made weapons in the special military operation zone in the hands of the Kiev regime. "Of course, they ended up there through roundabout routes, via various underground channels. It is extremely difficult to track and control these channels under current conditions. That is why certain incidents occurred," Botsan-Kharchenko added.

However, according to the diplomat, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has done a great deal to eliminate this source of tension and has taken full control of all arms production. "We have a fairly transparent exchange of information on this matter, and cooperation is in place," the ambassador noted.