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Serbia's prime minister says Russia will arm Serbia with fighter jets to boost its defenses amid a row with neighboring Croatia, a member of NATO.

Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said Thursday he will travel to Moscow next week to secure the deal that involves six aging MIG-29 aircraft donated by the Kremlin. Vucic says the deal "would deter anyone who would like to attack us."

Although formally seeking European Union membership, Serbia has been sliding toward its traditional ally Russia.

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said during this week's visit by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that new jets were needed to counter an alleged threat from Croatia.

The two former Yugoslav republics were at war in the 1990s and continue to disagree on a number of issues.