‘Recognizing an Independent Kosovo? Forget it!’ Says Serbian President Vucic

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has stated that Serbia will not recognize Kosovo’s independence.

“Recognizing an independent Kosovo – forget it!” Vucic said, B92 reported.

He sees no solution for the dispute between Serbia and Kosovo under the current circumstances. 

“I don’t see a solution. When I saw one, everyone jumped on my neck,” Vucic said, possibly referring to an alleged plan by him and Kosovo’s President Hashim Thaci, allegedly supported by Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and EU chief diplomat Federica Mogherini, that failed after Merkel and Macron opposed it.

After the Berlin Summit in April 2019, Vucic announced that his plan for a land swap deal with Kosovo had failed, and that Serbs were going to regret their opposition to it.

Thaci then took the lead to advance the alleged plan for land swaps after meeting with Rama in Tirana.

On Thursday, Vucic explained that he is fighting to save Serbia from being blamed for the lack of dialogue with Kosovo. “We are talking and negotiating with the West here, not with Albanians,” he said. 

Vucic argued two weeks ago that Serbia is ready to sacrifice EU membership over Kosovo recognition if it receives nothing else in return.