Russian S400 missiles in Serbian exercise

MOSCOW/BELGRADE: Russia says a division of its S400 missile defence system will take part in a military drill in Serbia, underlining Moscow’s wish to keep a traditional ally on side, even as Belgrade pursues links with Nato and the European Union.

It will be the first time that the sophisticated S400s, together with a Pantsir missile battery, will participate in military exercises abroad, Moscow’s Defence Ministry said in a statement.

For its part, Serbia’s Defence Ministry said the exercises — dubbed Slavic Shield 2019, aimed to simulate the ‘‘use of a joint [combat] group . . . in defending . . . against enemy reconnaissance and offensive actions’’.

‘‘Apart from antiaircraft missile systems in use in the Serbian army, missile systems that are in use by the Russian Air Force will also be used’’ in the livefire exercise, set to run until October 29, it said in a statement.

The exercises began on Thursday but were not made public until yesterday.

Serbia declared military neutrality in 2006 and joined Nato’s Partnership for Peace programme in 2015, though does not seek full membership in the USled alliance. It is also an EU membership candidate and is negotiating entry to the bloc.

But Russia is vying to keep fellow Orthodox Christian, Slavic Serbia within its sphere of geopolitical influence.

Serbia, whose military is based on exSoviet weapons technology, has procured MiG29 fighter jets, as well as helicopters, tanks and armoured personnel carriers from Russia in recent years.

The two countries have also boosted intelligence cooperation. On Wednesday, Sergey Naryshkin, head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), told Serbian staterun RTS TV that the two countries were performing ‘‘complex mutual operations’’ to protect their external interests.

Serbia has relied on Russia for support in its continued refusal to recognise the independence of its former southern province of Kosovo, which seceded in 2008 after a bloody guerrilla uprising. — Reuters