Serbia Will Not Take Permanent Decision On Kosovo Without Consulting Russia - Dacic

Sumaira FH Published April 17, 2019 | 07:23 PM

Serbia will not take a permanent decision on Kosovo or any other open regional issues without holding consultations with Russia, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said on Wednesday after a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th April, 2019) Serbia will not take a permanent decision on Kosovo or any other open regional issues without holding consultations with Russia, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said on Wednesday after a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Dacic noted that if some agreement with Pristina is reached, it should be verified by the United Nations.

"We believe that the United Nations should have the last word [on Serbia-Kosovo issue] ... If it is necessary that the agreement prescribes a new UN resolution, we will discuss this issue in the upcoming period. Serbia will never make a permanent decision on Kosovo and on other open issues in the region without holding consultations with the Russia," Dacic said.

Kosovo unilaterally proclaimed independence from Serbia on February 17, 2008. The self-proclaimed republic is recognized by over 100 UN member states. Serbia, as well as Russia, China, Israel, Iran, Spain, Greece and a number of other countries have not recognized Kosovo's independence.

In 2011, Serbia under the pressure of Brussels started negotiations on the normalization of relations with Kosovar Albanians with the mediation of the European Union. The dialogue is currently suspended.

Kosovo has recently taken a number of unilateral steps that complicate the continuation of dialogue.

In November 2018, the cabinet of the Kosovar region imposed 100 percent import duties on all products originating from central Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina and banned all goods that were improperly marked, citing the alleged hostility of the two countries toward Pristina. As a result, the Serb-populated areas of the region now have shortages of food and medicine.

The parliament of Kosovo voted in mid-December to turn the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) into a full-fledged army, which raised concerns from a number of international actors, including Russia.

Russia has been traditionally providing assistance to Serbia on the global stage regarding Kosovar-Serbian reconciliation.