Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic today agreed to return to mandatory military service in the country, which was abolished in 2011, DPA reported.
As commander-in-chief of the Serbian armed forces at a ceremony in Belgrade, Vucic agreed to the introduction of compulsory military service lasting 75 days.
The measure will only affect men, and women will be able to continue serving in the Serbian army on a voluntary basis.
Serbia needs a strong army and should buy and produce more weapons, Vucic said. “We do not wish to attack anyone. But our desire is to stop all those who threaten us day after day”, the Serbian president added, without specifying where these threats come from.
On Friday, Serbian Prime Minister Milos Vucevic said he firmly supports the return of compulsory military service and the government is ready, if political and public agreement is reached on the issue, to very quickly propose a draft law to parliament, Serbian national TV station RTS reported.
At the beginning of the year, the army command called for the introduction of military service of up to four months.
Earlier this month, Vucic said the length of compulsory military service should be carefully considered and not be too long, so as not to push even more young people to leave the country.