Serbia moves to reintroduce compulsory military service
PHOTO CAPTION: A Serbian service member engages his target during a training exercise with U.S. troops at Novo Selo Training Area, Bulgaria, July 13, 2019. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. True Thao via U.S. Defense Visual Information Distribution Service)
SARAJEVO (Reuters) - Serbia's government ministers on Friday agreed to reintroduce compulsory military service which was abolished 14 years ago, President Aleksandar Vucic said, praising the decision as an important step to improve the country's defence readiness.
The government said in a statement that it would form a working group to launch the process.
Under the plan, Serb men will have compulsory military service consisting of 60 days of training and 15 days of exercises, the government said. The service will be voluntary for girls.
Some military experts have criticised the plan, saying it will be costly and that such a short period of service will contribute little to the country's defence capabilities.
The armed forces of Serbia, which emerged as an independent state after the bloody collapse of former Yugoslavia in the 1990s, were fully professionalised in 2011 but remain poorly paid and equipped.
The Balkan country, which is a candidate for European Union membership, has retained voluntary service and reserve units.
"It is not our intention to attack anyone but we want to turn away those who threaten us," Vucic said after signing an agreement for the re-introduction of the conscription last week.
Serbia's move coincides with a similar decision by neighboring NATO member Croatia, whose defence minister announced earlier this month that compulsory conscription, which was suspended in 2008, will be re-introduced from Jan. 1, 2025.
Serbia, which maintains military neutrality, joined NATO's Partnership for Peace programme in 2006 and in 2015 it signed the Individual Partnership Action Plan - the highest level of cooperation for countries not aspiring to join the alliance.
Last month, Serbia signed a landmark agreement with France's Dassault Aviation for the purchase of 12 new Rafale fighter jets, a move which signals a move away from Russia, itstraditional ally and weapons supplier.
Croatia also purchased 12 Rafale fighter jets, six of which have already landed in the EU member country.
The two neighbouring countries, which maintain rather cold relations since the collapse in the 1990s of the former Yugoslav federation of which they were part, are in the process of purchasing modern helicopters and weapons, which some experts see as an arms race.
(Reporting by Daria Sito-Sucic; Editing by Christina Fincher)
