BELGRADE (Serbia), February 24 (SeeNews) – Serbia has received the first shipment of Pantsir S1 air defense systems from Russia, Serbian defence minister Aleksandar Vulin said.
"Today, the first part of the Pantsir S1 system arrived at the Colonel-pilot Milenko Pavlovic airport in Batajnica," Vulin said in a press release on Saturday.
With the delivery of the anti-aircraft system, Serbia continues strengthening its defensive power and its ability to remain militarily neutral, Vulin said.
Last week, Russia's defence minister Sergey Shoygu met Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade where he said the Russian government would make every effort to maintain the pace of its relations with Serbia in the military area.
Vucic said in October that Serbia had ordered the delivery of Pantsir S1 air defense systems from Russia.
Serbia maintains close political ties with Russia and refuses to join the Western economic sanctions against Moscow. The country is holding EU accession talks but unlike other Western Balkan states, it does not aspire to join NATO.