FAZ: Zelensky arriving to Belgrade, joint drone factory under consideration with UAE funding

Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to Serbia may be an announcement of a joint drone factory, writes Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ). Christopher Hill speaks for the newspaper, describing how Serbian ammunition was exported to Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is arriving in Belgrade on Saturday (August 8), writes Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, reminding that the visit has been planned for a long time, but has been postponed.

– According to diplomatic sources, there is a lobby in Kyiv that categorically rejects Zelenskyy’s visit to the Russophile Balkan state – the newspaper writes.

The visit is assessed as “primarily a political signal,” although officially it will mostly deal with economic issues.

– Although there is no official confirmation, this also applies to the defense sector, up to the possible joint production of drones – writes the German newspaper, adding that production in Serbia could be financed by the United Arab Emirates.

Journalist Michael Martens reminds in his article that nowhere else in Europe is there as much sympathy for Russia and President Vladimir Putin as in Serbia.

– The leadership in Belgrade clearly does not have the impression that Putin’s troops are on the verge of a decisive victory in Ukraine. Accordingly, contacts in Ukraine are being strengthened, and those with Russia are not being severed – writes Martens.

Hill as a mediator

The journalist also spoke with Christopher Hill, the former US ambassador to Serbia, who talks about how he connected Ukraine and Serbia at the beginning of his mandate in 2022:

– At the beginning of his mandate in Belgrade, the Ukrainian ambassador came to me with a list of military supplies that Ukraine urgently needed on the battlefield. My team at the embassy checked whether the Serbs were able to fulfill these orders - and they were – says Hill and adds:

– The US began to support the purchase of significant quantities of Serbian ammunition, which we knew Ukraine urgently needed.

FAZ writes that it was clear to everyone - including Belgrade - that the weapons would end up in Ukraine via Poland or the Czech Republic. And Moscow knew this too, from where, the paper reminds us, several warnings to Belgrade had come. Once, allegedly, in Beijing, Putin personally reprimanded Aleksandar Vucic.

Hill careful that Serbia did not sell to Russia

Hill added that it was important for the American side that the Serbian engagement did not appear as “war profiteering,” but rather that it was related to the long-term ties between Serbia and Ukraine that are based on “common interests.” And that Serbia “stands on the right side of history,” Hill added.

He believes that criticism of Belgrade for not joining the sanctions against Moscow is exaggerated. As ambassador, he says, he advocated the position that “Serbia can take far more important measures than playing a secondary role in the sanctions regime.”

Christopher Hill also wanted to avoid the possibility of Serbia supplying weapons to both sides. The retired diplomat says that the Americans’ priority was to “observe accurately whether Serbia is working with Russia in any way. We have invested significant resources to make sure that we know the true state of affairs.”

Finally, Hill says that there have been no Serbian arms sales to Russia, “at least not on a scale worth mentioning.”

Is a site for a factory already being sought?

Frankfurter Allgemeine also writes about the role of Oleksandr Kamyshin, who is Zelenskyy’s advisor in charge of connecting Ukrainian defense industry with European partners. Kamyshin, the newspaper writes, also plays a “backroom” role in Serbia.

– He has reportedly been to the Balkan state several times in recent years and visited places with his team where drones could be jointly produced. According to informed sources, the production of artillery ammunition was also a topic of discussion – the newspaper adds.

Journalist Martens explains that it is easier to get information about everything from the American side than from Serbia because all of this is sensitive for Belgrade.

– Serbia is dependent on Russian gas supplies. Without them, the Balkan state would not be left without supplies, but a large part of the investment calculation would be jeopardized, in a country that has attracted numerous investors in recent years.

The article adds that Ukraine and Serbia are working on a free trade agreement, but that, from the Ukrainian side, it can be heard that it could take until early 2027 before the agreements are signed.

– Both the Serbian and Ukrainian economies are interested in such an agreement – Marko Cadez, president of the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia, who is said to have “done a lot, both in front and behind the scenes, for the economic rapprochement of the two countries,” tells the journalist. Cadez particularly praises the Ukrainian IT industry, which is setting records even during the war, and reminds that Serbia has a growing IT scene.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Christopher Hill

Marko Čadež

drone factory

production of artillery munition