Stefanovic: Serbia isn't exporting arms to Yemen; his father's not involved

Serbian Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic today denied allegations that the arms export firm GIM is owned by his father, Branko Stefanovic, and stressed that his father doesn't own that or any arms exporting company.

"My father does not own that company nor has he anything to do with arms exports," he told reporters after the presentation of mixed Serbian-Chinese patrols - when asked about the allegations published by the Arms Watch portal, linking Stefanovic's father to arms exports to Saudi Arabia, which are later sent to Yemen.

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Stefanovic said that Arms Watch is not an international portal, that it is registered in Bulgaria and that it is followed by about a hundred people.

He recalled that the Ministry of Defense and the company Krusik reacted on the issue and provided concrete information on several occasions.

Photo by: Tanjug/Sava Radovanovic

"When everyone reacts and provides data, then you have to defend yourself against something that someone said on a piece of paper and said it was true. The state institutions offered concrete evidence, and my father has nothing to do with it," said Stefanovic.

He stressed that Serbia is not exporting arms to Yemen, but exclusively to those countries that have international permits and are not under international sanctions.

He said no one ever complained or claimed that Serbia was selling weapons to a country for which there was not enough information.

"Countries like the US and the UK export weapons to Saudi Arabia, as does a large number of EU countries, why would that be forbidden only to Serbia, I see no reason," said Stefanovic.

He noted that the topic of arms exports comes up when the 60 billion dinars that went through Dragan Djilas's account are mentioned, and  when corruption in the ranks of the former authorities is mentioned.

Representatives of the opposition previously accused Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Minister Stefanovic's father, Branko Stefanovic, of being behind exports of weapons from Serbia to Saudi Arabia, which allegedly end up in Yemen through an intermediary.

(Telegraf.rs/Tanjug)