00:00French President Emmanuel Macron has signed a deal with President Alexander Vucic to sell
00:07Serbia 12 Rafale fighter jets.
00:10The announcement was made during a news conference in Belgrade during Macron's visit to strengthen
00:15Serbia's ties with the European Union.
00:18Macron called the deal historic and important.
00:22The choice of Rafale fighter jets by Serbia is a clear choice in this respect,
00:26that of a long-term alliance between our two countries within a stronger and more sovereign Europe.
00:34And that this choice is part of our strategic autonomy and the strengthening of it.
00:40Serbia needs to upgrade its fleet and Vucic said the Rafale deal was huge news.
00:45The total value of the contract is 2.7 billion.
00:5312 completely new planes will be owned by the Republic of Serbia.
01:00Russia has been the traditional supplier of military aircraft to Serbia,
01:04which has refused to join international sanctions against Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.
01:09Macron warned that after the Russian invasion,
01:12Serbia's balancing game between world powers was an illusion.
01:16He said Serbia will only be able to protect its interests and preserve its identity as part of the EU.
01:43But selling Rafales to Russian ally Serbia,
01:51which has occasionally expressed an aggressive stance towards its Balkan neighbours,
01:55has raised some concerns.
01:57One of those is how France plans to prevent sophisticated Rafale technology from being shared with Russia.
