The Republic of Kosovo, unrecognized by Ukraine, has joined the G7 declaration of support for Ukraine, adopted on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Vilnius, which is conditionally called the declaration on “security guarantees.”
This was announced on Twitter by the Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti.
The Republic of Kosova joins the G7 Declaration of Support for Ukraine. Ensuring victory for Ukraine—and holding Russia's leaders accountable for their crimes—is essential to the preservation of peace and democracy. Kosova stands ready to contribute to these efforts. pic.twitter.com/yyYLfOGXhL
— Albin Kurti (@albinkurti) August 20, 2023
He stressed that ensuring Ukraine’s victory and holding Russian leaders accountable for their crimes is “important to the preservation of peace and democracy.” “Kosovo is ready to contribute to these efforts,” Kurti stressed. The prime minister’s statement said that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine remains a threat to international peace and security, and Ukraine’s losses in this war “were catastrophic.”
“We are grateful to the Ukrainians for their brave resistance in defending our common values, including democracy, human rights, global peace and stability, and we express our deep sympathy and condolences for their loss and suffering,” Kurti added.
He also noted that the consequences of this war have already spread far beyond the borders of Ukraine, because in an attempt to divert attention from its aggression, Russia is trying to destabilize the Western Balkans “with the help of its main autocratic allies in the region.”
Kosovo declared independence in 2008, while Serbia claims the region as its territory. Kosovo’s independence is recognized by half of the UN member states, including the United States and most EU and NATO countries. At the same time, Ukraine does not recognize the independence of Kosovo. Political scientists have repeatedly emphasized the danger for Ukraine of recognizing Kosovo, since Russia referred to this precedent when it annexed Crimea in 2014.
In early August 2029, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic (who is also present at today’s dinner at Kyriakos Mitsotakis) warned that Ukraine would “lose its trump cards” if it recognized Kosovo.
The warning came after the publication of a letter from European and American parliamentarians calling on Western countries to toughen their approach to Serbian leader Aleksandar Vučić in his dispute with “sovereign Kosovo”. The fact that the message was also signed by the head of the foreign policy committee of the Ukrainian Rada, Oleksandr Merezhko, was regarded by many in Serbia and abroad as Kyiv’s readiness to recognize the independence of Kosovo. And although the Ukrainian ambassador in Belgrade assured that “Kyiv’s position on the territorial integrity of Serbia is unchanged,” he nevertheless admitted that support for the idea of recognizing Kosovo in Ukraine is growing.
Ukrainian edition “European Truth” reports: “It became known yesterday that Oleksandr Merezhko, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Foreign Policy and Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation, joined an open appeal to increase pressure on Serbia and move away from trying to balance it and Kosovo. Merezhko’s comments to the letter were portrayed in some Serbian media as if the Ukrainian parliament was discussing a decision to recognize Kosovo’s independence.
Advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Vadim Denisenko believes that Kyiv cannot recognize Kosovo. Against the background of the newly aggravated relations between Belgrade and Pristina, Kiev reminded that the recognition of Kosovo would weaken the Ukrainian position on Crimea. At the same time, Ukraine has been issuing visas on Kosovo passports since 2019. The current situation looks like a failure for Kyiv: the recognition of Kosovo is unprofitable for the Ukrainian side, but this is in the interests of its Western curators, experts noted.
The Ukrainian authorities “under no circumstances” should recognize the independence of Kosovo. About it declared August 1, 2023 Advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Vadym Denisenko. “The incident of Kosovo is the same incident as that of Crimea. If we recognize Kosovo, then after that we must say that our position on the Ukrainian Crimea is much weaker,” Denisenko said. And he added: “Therefore, Kosovo cannot be recognized under any circumstances.”
It is worth noting that Greece also did not recognize Kosovo. However today’s meeting in Athens can change the situation.
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