Serbia continues to debate about Putin's Kosovo statement
Russian President Vladimir Putin's statement about Kosovo has been one of the main topics of discussion in Serbia for the second day. Politicians and experts draw their conclusions.
Thus, some media outlets, which have expressed pro-Russian views for years, sharply criticized Putin’s statement that the DPR and LPR became independent based on the precedent of the International Court, which ruled on the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo.
One of the leading political scientists, Dragomir Andjelkovic, in a commentary for the Beta agency, said that it was premature to draw conclusions, adding that “the media often behave inappropriately towards any great power.”
He is convinced that the Russian leader “in no way threatened the interests of Serbia” with this statement.
“Putin did not say that he supports or accepts the independence of Kosovo, but that the West violated international law by supporting the declaration of independence of the false state of Kosovo. Therefore, Russia will no longer adhere to that part of international law that the West does not respect. He didn’t say anything that directly threatened us, and it was misinterpreted,” the expert believes.
According to him, the media “often interpret political situations in their own way.” The publication’s interlocutor also explained why it is not profitable for Serbia to join anti-Russian sanctions.
“If we got favorable agreements with the West on Republika Srpska and Kosovo, then we would see whether distancing ourselves from Russia pays off or not, because if we did that now, we would be shooting ourselves in the foot.” This would immediately lead to the loss of Russian support for the defense of Kosovo and the preservation of the RS in the Dayton format. Therefore, we must remember that these will be sanctions against Serbia, and not against Russia,” Andjelkovic said.
Serbia continues to debate Putin's Kosovo statement.