On 21st July 2023, a Belgian delegation conducted a mission to Serbia to verify the destination of Walloon military equipment sent to the country. The equipment, originating from

New Lachaussée (NLC) in Wallonia, was confirmed to be in Serbia, and there was no evidence suggesting that sanctions against Russia and the Russian embargo were violated.

The delegation, comprising representatives from the arms export licensing administration, the Walloon advisory committee on arms exports, and the Di Rupo cabinet, visited the Serbian installations where the military material is located.

Earlier, on 4th July, Walloon minister-president Elio Di Rupo had suspended all ongoing procedures for NLC export licenses to Serbia due to concerns about possible connections between the Liège-based manufacturer and Russian companies, with Serbia acting as an intermediary.

However, the report submitted by the delegation to Di Rupo on Thursday confirmed that the New Lachaussée's equipment was indeed in Serbia, and the country granted unrestricted access to highly secure sites, demonstrating transparency.

Additionally, the Di Rupo cabinet pointed out that the US Defense attaché in Serbia reported no indications of Serbian exports to Russia or Belarus, nor any traces of Serbian munitions on the Ukrainian battlefield. The delegation concluded that there were no elements suggesting a circumvention of European sanctions against Russia or the Russian embargo. Photo by Gmihail at Serbian Wikipedia.