BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia on Saturday staged a large-scale military parade in the capital Belgrade, showcasing tanks, missile systems and fighter jets in what officials described as the country’s biggest display of army strength in its history.
President Aleksandar Vucic reviewed the parade, which included about 10,000 troops, saying the show of force underscored Serbia’s ability to defend its independence and sovereignty and act as a deterrent against any foreign aggressor. Serbia is mostly surrounded by NATO-member states.
Click to Gallery
Serbian Army soldiers perform during a military parade in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, right, and Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik attend a military parade in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik attend a military parade in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Serbian army MiG-29 jets, left and right, and French Air Force Rafale fighter jets fly in the sky during a military parade in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Serbian Army soldiers perform during a military parade in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Columns of troops marched through the New Belgrade district of the capital as crowds waved national flags, while aircraft roared overhead.
The event featured both domestically produced weapons as well as rocket launchers from Israel, drones purchased from the United Arab Emirates as well as tanks supplied by Russia and anti-aircraft systems from China, reflecting Belgrade’s close ties with Moscow and Beijing despite its declared goal of joining the European Union.
What caught most of the attention of military experts was the Israeli PULS system, a versatile rocket artillery platform capable of launching a range of munitions with varying ranges and payloads. Its range is up to 300 kilometers (185 miles), meaning it can reach most of the Balkan capitals.
Another surprise appearance was a couple of the French air force's Rafale fighter jets. Serbia has ordered 12 such multi-purpose aircraft that are due for delivery in the coming years.
Critics said the parade was designed less to showcase the strength of the military than to bolster Vucic’s populist rule that has been challenged by student-led protests and growing international scrutiny of his increasingly authoritarian grip on power.
Opposition leaders accused the government of using the army as a political prop, while rights groups noted that some state employees were pressured to attend the parade and were transported in hundreds of buses.
Hundreds of university students and other opposition supporters, who have for more than 10 months staged anti-corruption protests against Vucic and his government, were prevented by riot police from joining other spectators of the parade.
Vucic has refused a student demand to call an early parliamentary election. He has instead stepped up a crackdown on the protests, which have drawn hundreds of thousands of people in the past months.
The anti-government protests first started in November last year after a concrete canopy collapse at a renovated train station in the northern city of Novi Sad killed 16 people. It ignited a nationwide movement seeking justice for the victims and blaming corruption-fueled negligence for the tragedy.
Serbian Army soldiers perform during a military parade in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, right, and Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik attend a military parade in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik attend a military parade in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Serbian army MiG-29 jets, left and right, and French Air Force Rafale fighter jets fly in the sky during a military parade in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Serbian Army soldiers perform during a military parade in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said she presented her Nobel Peace Prize medal to President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday even as he has questioned her credibility to take over her country after the U.S. ousted then-President Nicolás Maduro.
The Nobel Institute has said Machado could not give her prize to Trump, an honor that he has coveted. Even if it the gesture proves to be purely symbolic, it was extraordinary given that Trump has effectively sidelined Machado, who has long been the face of resistance in Venezuela. He has signaled his willingness to work with acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who had been Maduro’s second in command.
“I presented the president of the United States the medal, the Nobel Peace Prize," Machado told reporters after leaving the White House and heading to Capitol Hill. She said she had done so "as a recognition for his unique commitment with our freedom.”
Trump confirmed later on social media that Machado had left the medal for him to keep, and he said it was an honor to meet her.
“She is a wonderful woman who has been through so much. María presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done,” Trump said in his post. “Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect. Thank you María!”
The White House later posted a photo of Machado standing next to Trump in the Oval Office as he holds the medal in a large frame. A text in the frame reads, "Presented as a personal symbol of gratitude on behalf of the Venezuelan people in recognition of President Trump’s principled and decisive action to secure a free Venezuela.”
Trump has raised doubts about his stated commitment to backing democratic rule in Venezuela, giving no timetable on when elections might be held. Machado indicated that he had provided few specifics on that front during their discussion.
She did not provide more information on what was said.
After the closed-door meeting, Machado greeted dozens of cheering supporters waiting for her near the White House gates, stopping to hug many.
“We can count on President Trump,” she told them without elaborating, prompting some to briefly chant, “Thank you, Trump.”
Before her visit to Washington, Machado had not been seen in public since she traveled last month to Norway, where her daughter received the peace prize on her behalf. She had spent 11 months in hiding in Venezuela before she appeared in Norway after the ceremony.
The jubilant scene after her meeting with Trump stood in contrast to political realities in Venezuela. Rodríguez remains in charge of day-to-day government operations, along with others in Maduro’s inner circle. In her first state of the union speech Thursday, the interim president promoted the resumption of diplomatic ties between the historic adversaries and advocated for opening the state-run oil industry to more foreign investment after Trump pledged to seize control of Venezuelan crude sales.
Trump has said it would be difficult for Machado to lead because she “doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country.” Her party is widely believed to have won 2024 elections rejected by Maduro.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called Machado “a remarkable and brave voice” but also said the meeting didn’t mean Trump’s opinion of her changed, calling it “a realistic assessment.”
Leavitt told reporters that Trump supported new Venezuelan elections “when the time is right” but did not say when he thought that might be.
Leavitt said Machado had sought the face-to-face meeting without setting expectations for what would occur. She spent about two and a half hours at the White House.
“I don’t think he needs to hear anything from Ms. Machado," the press secretary said while the meeting was still going on, other than to have a ”frank and positive discussion about what’s taking place in Venezuela.”
After leaving the White House, Machado went on to a closed-door meeting with a bipartisan group of senators.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said Machado told them that “if there’s not some progress, real progress towards a transition in power, and/or elections in the next several months, we should all be worried.”
“She reminded us that Delcy Rodríguez is, in many ways, worse than Maduro,” he added.
Asked if Machado had heard any commitment from the White House on holding elections in Venezuela, Murphy said, “No, I don’t think she got any commitment from them."
Sen. Bernie Moreno, an Ohio Republican, was exultant following the meeting, saying Machado "delivered a message that loud and clear: What President Trump did was the most important, significant event in Latin America. That getting rid of Maduro was absolutely essential.”
Machado's Washington stop coincided with U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea seizing another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says had ties to Venezuela. It is part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil after U.S. forces captured Maduro and his wife less than two weeks ago at a heavily guarded compound in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas and brought them to New York to stand trial on drug trafficking charges.
Leavitt said Venezuela's interim authorities have been fully cooperating with the Trump administration and noted that Rodríguez's government said it planned to release more prisoners detained under Maduro. Among those released were five Americans this week.
Trump said Wednesday that he had a “great conversation” with Rodríguez, their first since Maduro was ousted.
Just hours after Maduro's capture, Trump said of Machado that “it would be very tough for her to be the leader.” Machado had steered a careful course to avoid offending Trump, notably after winning the peace prize, and had sought to cultivate relationships with him and key administration voices like Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The industrial engineer and daughter of a steel magnate, Machado began challenging the ruling party in 2004, when the nongovernmental organization she co-founded, Súmate, promoted a referendum to recall then-President Hugo Chávez. The initiative failed, and Machado and other Súmate executives were charged with conspiracy.
A year later, she drew the anger of Chávez and his allies again for traveling to Washington to meet President George W. Bush, whom Chávez considered an adversary.
Almost two decades later, she marshaled millions of Venezuelans to reject Chávez’s successor, Maduro, for another term in the 2024 election. But ruling party-loyal electoral authorities declared him the winner despite ample credible evidence to the contrary. Ensuing anti-government protests ended in a brutal crackdown.
Garcia Cano reported from Caracas, Venezuela. Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro, Stephen Groves, Michelle L. Price and Matthew Lee in Washington, and Megan Janetsky in Mexico City contributed to this report.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado is welcomed at the Capitol before a meeting with senators, from left, Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., and Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., as the Nobel Peace Prize recipient visits American leaders two weeks after President Donald Trump toppled Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro in a stunning military raid, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, center, leaves the Capitol, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, center, is welcomed by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., left, Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., far left, and Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., right, as the Nobel Peace Prize recipient visits American leaders at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado gestures to supporters on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado waves to supporters on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado smiles on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado waves to supporters on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
FILE - U.S. President George Bush, right, meets with Maria Corina Machado, executive director of Sumate, a non-governmental organization that defends Venezuelan citizens' political rights, in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington, May 31, 2005. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)
FILE - Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gestures to supporters during a protest against President Nicolas Maduro the day before his inauguration for a third term, in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, file)
