France's Macron to visit Serbia with a possible deal to sell French warplanes in a shift from Russia
French President Emmanuel Macron starts a two-day state visit to Serbia, with the focus on the possible sale of 12 Rafale multi-purpose fighter jets to the country, which has maintained close ties to Russia despite its invasion of Ukraine
BELGRADE, Serbia — French President Emmanuel Macron starts a two-day state visit to Serbia on Thursday with the focus on the possible sale of 12 Rafale multi-purpose fighter jets to the country, which has maintained close ties to Russia despite its invasion of Ukraine.
Macron is to meet populist President Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade on Thursday evening, when the deal reportedly worth 3 billion euros ($3.3 billion) is expected to be announced.
An official in Macron’s office, who was not authorized to be identified according to French presidential policy, said the warplane talks are part of larger strategy of ″bringing Serbia closer to the EU.″
Serbia needs to upgrade its fleet and the Rafale is a ″strategic choice″ for Belgrade, which could choose to rely only on Russian equipment instead, the official said.
Serbia is formally seeking European Union membership, but under Vucic’s increasingly autocratic rule it has made little progress in the fields of rule of law and democratic reforms, which are the main preconditions for membership in the 27-nation bloc.
In a letter to the Serbian public published in the local media on Thursday, Macron sought to encourage the Balkan nation to pursue its EU future but noted that “the perspective of joining the European Union does not seem to be as attractive as it should.” He cited “concerns and fatigue over the rhythm of accession talks but also sometimes a sort of resentment, even mistrust” of the EU.
“I come here to Serbia again today with a
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