Serbia expects Russia to uphold Kosovo stance if it adopts sanctions
Even if Serbia decides to support Western sanctions, Russia is not likely to alter its position on Serbian sovereignty over Kosovo, Serbia's FM hoped.
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Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic in a press conference after a meeting with the EU Council president in Belgrade, July 1, 2013 (Serbia.com)
Ivica Dacic, the first deputy prime minister and foreign minister of Serbia, stated on Monday that even if Serbia decides to support Western sanctions, Russia is not likely to alter its position on Serbian sovereignty over Kosovo.
"I do not think that Russia will change its stance on Kosovo if Serbia imposes sanctions, but the relations will not be the same as now," Dacic said.
Read more: West blackmailing Serbia to impose sanctions on Russia
He then added that while Serbia doesn't support Russia's special military operation, they will not partake in the campaign of Western sanctions "for principled reasons".
84 out of 193 member states recognize Kosovo's independence, according to Dacic. He expressed his optimism about a Russian or Chinese veto against Kosovo's accession to the UN.
Read more: NATO removes last barricades in Serbian-majority Northern Kosovo
In 2008, Kosovo seceded from Serbia and unilaterally declared its independence from Serbia. An agreement to improve relations between Serbia and Kosovo was struck in 2013, but the conversation quickly came to a halt. Since mid-2022, tensions at the border have been building, occasionally rising into road closures in northern Kosovo.
In early March, Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic announced that he is not willing to recognize Kosovo's independence nor permit it to join the United Nations despite heightened EU pressure to isolate his country.
Serbia's leader also revealed that the European Union has threatened to isolate Serbia and pull out all investments if the proposed Kosovo agreement was discarded.
