Belarus has officially handed over four MiG-29 fighter jets to Serbia as part of military-technical aid, according to Belarus’ media reports.

According to several media reports, a delegation of the Serbian Ministry of Defense and Air Force, led by Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin, attended the handover ceremony in Baranovichi, Brest Oblast on 25 February.

Speaking at the ceremony, Vulin underlined that Belarus’ military-technical aid is of great importance for his country.

“We can freely say that we now have 14 MiG-29, which is a number that we could not dream of in 2012 when President Vucic became Minister of Defense at that time. His personal relations with President Lukashenko [of Belarus] showed how important they are,” he said.

Vulin also said the two countries share military and economic cooperation.

Andrei Fedin, Head of the Central Office for Planning and Coordination of Technical Support, First Deputy Chief of Armament of the Belarusian army, noted: “Belarus-Serbia contacts develop vigorously. The two defense ministries share their best practices in a broad spectrum of activities. The Belarusian military is ready to help bolster the defensive capability of the brotherly country of Serbia. We are handing over the MiG-29 aircraft and wish they would get off the ground only during exercises and festivities.”

According to BelTA, upon request of the Serbian army specialists of 558 Aircraft Repair Plant will perform repairs and upgrades of the aircraft, which were handed over on 25 February.