After Russia sent an aircraft to assist with wildfire fighting in Serbia, the European Commission said late Thursday that it is also ready to provide assistance, but EU candidate state Serbia hasn’t yet activated the bloc’s Civil Protection mechanism.
“Should Serbia activate in the upcoming hours/days in response to wildfires, we will immediately coordinate with European partners to mobilise assistance in line with actual needs and the situation on the ground,” a European Commission spokesperson told BIRN.
There are 20 active wildfires in Serbia, Luka Causic, head of the Interior Ministry’s Department for Emergency Situations, said on Thursday. The situation is most dire in the Deliblato Sands nature reserve, which has been battling wildfires since late July.
Following a request from Serbia, the European Commission provided satellite imagery to support the response of local firefighters.
However, Serbia turned to Russia for air support. A Russian Emercom Il-76 aircraft arrived in Serbia on Wednesday evening, said Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic.
“The aircraft can drop up to 42 tonnes of water in a single pass, making it one of the most powerful operational firefighting aircrafts, given that there are currently no firefighting aircraft of this capacity available within the EU Civil Protection Mechanism,” Dacic wrote on Instagram on Wednesday.
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote on X on Wednesday evening that “the Serbian side appealed to Russia for assistance amid a critical wildfire situation and growing threats to populated areas”.
“Russia consistently supports the brotherly Serbian people,” it added.
However, the European Commission spokesperson declared that “relations with Russia and Putin’s regime cannot be ‘business as usual’”.
“When it comes to the support received from Russia, let us reiterate that the EU wants to count on Serbia as a reliable partner,” the spokesperson said.
On Sunday, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that both the EU and Russia had offered to help with wildfires in Serbia, but that help was not needed at the moment.
“I would like to thank Ursula von der Leyen for the fact that she has included us on the map of countries at risk, and for ensuring that European mechanisms are monitoring the events here, meaning that we can expect assistance at any moment,” he said.
“The Russians have also offered us support and assistance, but it is not necessary at this point. We have sufficient forces, expertise and helicopters to deal with this situation ourselves,” Vucic added.
Serbia has been part of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism since 2015. Participating countries can request assistance via the mechanism when the scale of an emergency overwhelms the response capabilities of a country.