Djukic: Kuleba's visit to Serbia is significant news; Ukraine has no intention of recognizing Kosovo

Former diplomat and analyst Srecko Djukic described Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba's visit to Serbia as significant news and added that Ukraine, regardless of announcements, "has no intention of recognizing Kosovo."

"This is significant news because, objectively, Serbia and Ukraine's relations suffer from a deficit of regular bilateral visits. The deficit is in visits, contacts, and understanding," Djukic says.

He believes that bilateral relations between the two countries have not suffered despite the lack of official meetings.

"We know some things from public statements, some things we don't know, some things can be inferred or concluded from Kyiv's relationship with Belgrade, and even more from Moscow's relationship with Belgrade due to the delivery of that weaponry, that is, ammunition," Djukic claims.

He adds that Kuleba's visit to Belgrade was most likely not solely bilateral but part of a tour in the region where Ukraine is trying to encourage and directly invite countries to the global peace meeting scheduled for June 15th and 16th in Geneva.

"This is a large gathering that will be attended by the UN Secretary-General, Biden, Western leaders... It is estimated that around 100 countries will be present," Djukic explains.

When asked if this visit could be interpreted as a kind of thaw in relations between Ukraine and Serbia, Djukic says it should be seen as a step in that direction.

"We have no reason to hinder relations between Serbia and Ukraine. We voted in the UN organization, at its General Assembly, for resolutions condemning Russian aggression, the occupation of Ukraine, and hence the platform between us and Russia is completely clear and clean. There is no doubt about that," Djukic emphasizes.

He adds that the key links between the two countries are the fact that Ukraine has not recognized Kosovo's independence, but also a lesser-known fact that its armed forces were present the longest as part of KFOR, with bases in Strpce and Dragas.

"The Ukrainian military contingent within KFOR was present from the aggression in 1999 until 2019," Djukic reminds.

He stresses that Ukraine's position regarding recognizing Kosovo is very clear and that it is not surprising that there are dissenting voices within this country advocating for a change in that stance, explaining it should be done "because Serbia allegedly stands with Russia in the war."

"Some members of their Supreme Council, parliament, say this. Their ambassador in Tirana also said something. But these are not voices that can change anything, and it is not surprising or miraculous," Djukic believes.

The former diplomat is confident that Ukraine is not considering the possibility of recognizing Kosovo's independence.

"Ukraine has no intention to do so, nor would it benefit them at this moment, while all these problems and processes are ongoing. Even after that. Ukraine is a significant country in Europe, and now it has been shown even more broadly in the international community, so it wouldn't lightly change its stance. I believe our relations with Ukraine must strengthen faster, broader, and deeper," Djukic evaluates.

When asked if a change in the decision regarding Kosovo's recognition would bring any benefit to Ukraine, this diplomat says that such a decision would practically not gain them anything in the eyes of the international community.

"I don't think it would even enhance their standing among allies within NATO and the EU," Djukic concludes.