Serbia Won't Recognise Crimea as Russian Due to Possible Comparison to Kosovo

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has reiterated that Belgrade cannot recognise Crimea as a part of Russia since such a move might result in Crimea being compared to Kosovo, which proclaimed its independence from Serbia but has not been recognized by the Serbian authorities.

"If we did this today, an analogy would be drawn to Kosovo. They would say that under the same principle, Kosovo is independent and we do not have a right to fight for it anymore. I believe that every sane person in Russia, or any other country, understands this," Vucic told Russia’s Rossiya 24 TV channel late on Friday.

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Vucic also several times emphasized that the relations between Moscow and Belgrade remained good, adding that Serbia would not support any anti-Russian sanctions.

Last year, Vucic said in an interview with Le Monde that Serbia did not recognise Crimea as a part of Russia's territory because it would mean backing Kosovo’s independence. The Serbian president also recalled that at the same time, Belgrade had not supported western sanctions against Russia.

Crimea became a part of Russia as a result of a referendum in 2014, where over 97 percent of the voters supported the move. However, the reunification was opposed by Kiev and the West, which introduced sanctions against Russia. Russia, in its turn, responded by imposing food embargo on the states that had targeted it with the restrictions.

Kosovo proclaimed its independence from Serbia in 2008. However, Belgrade still considers Kosovo a part of the Serbian territory. Notably, Moscow has supported Belgrade by not recognizing the independence of Kosovo.