World is arming as if Doomsday is just around the corner, says Vucic

The entire world is actively buying armaments as if Doomsday is just around the corner, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said in an address to the nation on Thursday.

"Everyone in the world is arming, throwing money around like a drunk guest at a wedding.  Everyone is arming themselves in earnest, as if tomorrow will come the Judgment Day," Vucic said.

He reiterated his position, which holds that Belgrade will continue to sell arms and earn revenue from the defense sector. "We have sold and will continue to sell weapons to authorized countries. As to whether or not they will turn up in a war zone, of course they will, they always do. But we will continue in this activity," the president said.

Earlier, Vucic explained that weapons sales were a necessity for feeding the population. "We have to live, we have to feed people, our economy must develop," the president stressed.

On March 2, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Moscow had requested that Belgrade state its official position regarding information concerning deliveries of Serbian ammunition to Ukraine. Earlier, she said Moscow was "deeply concerned" about this information, noting that Russia was closely monitoring the situation.

In response, Vucic said that his country was not supplying weapons to either Russia or Ukraine. The president noted that Serbia had taken additional precautionary measures against the transfer of ammunition to third parties by stipulating in every contract, including within the framework of supplies to Turkey, a ban on their resale without Belgrade's permission.