West to Demand Serbia Recognize Kosovo If Belgrade Slaps Sanctions on Russia, Vucic Says

BELGRADE (Sputnik) - The West will require the Serbian authorities to sign an agreement with the partially-recognized republic of Kosovo on its formal recognition once Belgrade agrees to impose sanctions against Russia, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Sunday.

Vucic recalled that Belgrade has withstood external pressure for about 100 days, refusing to impose sanctions against Russia over the special operation in Ukraine.

"We handed over [former Yugoslav President Slobodan] Milosevic, no matter what we think about him. Why should we have extradited the president? Did we become part of the European Union after that? No, after that we killed our own prime minister [Zoran Djindjic]. And again, we are not sure that this is the work of domestic forces only. Then we were told: arrest [former Bosnian Serb commander Ratko] Mladic, [former President of the Republika Srpska of Bosnia and Herzegovina Radovan] Karadzic, conducted secret operations ... And what did we get? Visa liberalization? And now, if we impose sanctions [on Russia], then it turns out that the time has come for an agreement with Kosovo," Vucic said on air of Serbian broadcaster.

The Serbian president suggested that Pristina could be granted membership in the United Nations without formal recognition of the independence of the self-proclaimed republic by Belgrade.

In October, Vucic said that Belgrade would not impose sanctions on Russia until the very existence of Serbia is threatened, seeking to pursue its own independent foreign policy and further develop relations with Moscow. At the same time, Vucic has repeatedly acknowledged over the past months that Serbia was under more pressure due to its policy toward Russia.

In 2008, the Kosovo-Albanian structures in Pristina unilaterally proclaimed independence from Serbia. Since then, Kosovo has been recognized by 100 UN member states. In 2016, the EU and Kosovo signed the Stabilisation and Association Agreement, which confirmed Pristina's intention to join the bloc and its readiness to carry out the required political, economic, trade and human rights reforms.

In March 2022, the Kosovar parliament adopted a resolution urging the government to take all necessary steps to join NATO, the EU, the Council of Europe and other international organizations.