BELGRADE: held a military parade on Friday to mark , the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, in an apparent show of force amid rising tensions with .
The parade in the southern city of Nis included 4,000 troops, 300 military vehicles and 40 aircraft, including two Russian battle helicopters flown by Russian crews, a display of the growing political and military alliance with .
“I hope we won’t have to use (the military) against anyone,” Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said. “All this should serve primarily as a deterrent against an aggressor’s attack.”
Tensions have increased in the region with Serbia and Kosovo accusing each other of undermining efforts at reconciliation following a 1998-99 war which ended after intervention. Kosovo, a former Serbian province, declared independence in 2008. But Belgrade doesn’t recognize it.
Any military intervention by Serbia in Kosovo would trigger a direct clash with NATO-led peacekeepers stationed there.
“Serbia is a free country and we won’t allow anyone to threaten its freedom,” Vucic told the soldiers and thousands of people who gathered to watch the
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