Kyiv’s approach to Kosovo’s independence remains unchanged, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
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At a press conference in Belgrade, where he appeared alongside Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, Zelensky said Ukraine respects international law and the territorial integrity of its partners. He stressed that its position on Kosovo had not changed and expressed gratitude to Serbia for respecting Ukraine’s territorial integrity, including that of Crimea.
Although Ukraine does not recognize Kosovo’s independence, declared in 2008, Pristina has implemented European Union and United States sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine. Kosovo has also provided shelter to Ukrainian journalists who fled their country as a result of the war.
During his meeting with Zelensky, whose country is facing an invasion launched by Russia in February 2022, Vučić said that military cooperation was one of the topics discussed.
The Serbian president, who welcomed Zelensky on his first official visit to Serbia, said that what happens after the end of the war is a separate matter.
Vučić announced that a drone factory would open in Serbia in mid-September, to be established in cooperation with Israeli partners.
He noted that Ukrainians had achieved great success in this field and possessed a large number of their own factories producing drones.
Zelensky visited one of the few European countries that has chosen not to join sanctions against Russia over its war against Ukraine.
The Ukrainian president said his country sought a dignified peace and that every opportunity to achieve it should be used.
According to him, all opportunities available in Washington, Beijing and European capitals should be utilized, as well as those offered through partners in the Middle East, the Gulf states and other major cities and capitals around the world.
Zelensky said Ukraine was engaging in every form of cooperation that could provide its people with greater resilience and the capacity to confront all the challenges of the war.
He expressed gratitude to the European Union for each of the 21 packages of sanctions, but stressed that these measures were still not enough.
According to the Ukrainian president, Russian ballistic missiles contain hundreds of thousands of components that arrive in Russia from every continent.
Zelensky called for sanctions on the supply of parts used to produce Russian weapons. He also stressed the importance of preventing Russia from securing billions.
However, the Ukrainian president did not mention Serbia’s refusal to impose sanctions on Russia over its invasion of his country.
Belgrade supports Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, but Serbia remains one of the few countries in Europe that did not join Western punitive measures against Russia over its invasion of neighboring Ukraine.
Vučić assured that Serbia would continue to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
The Serbian president also said that Belgrade would have no objections if Ukraine joined the European Union before Serbia.
He said Serbia would never create obstacles or demand to be admitted first on the grounds that it had started the process earlier.
Despite Belgrade’s relations with the Kremlin, Serbia and Ukraine are building cooperation between them, while both hold candidate status for membership in the European Union.
Topics discussed during the meeting
Zelensky said that his conversation with Vučić covered bilateral relations and issues that could contribute to strengthening infrastructure.
He said there were concrete initiatives in the fields of development and infrastructure, including projects for the reconstruction of Ukraine, which the two countries could carry out together.
Vučić recalled that Serbian authorities had previously promised Zelensky that they would take responsibility for rebuilding a smaller city damaged during the war.
The Serbian president confirmed that this promise would be fulfilled.
He also announced that Serbia had made substantial assistance available to Ukraine.
According to Vučić, Ukraine was expected to be more satisfied with Serbian humanitarian support in the period ahead, particularly with assistance for the energy sector and the equipment needed during the winter.
Vučić expressed the belief that, once the war ended, cooperation between the two countries would expand and strengthen in foreign policy as well. He mentioned the possibility of Serbia and Ukraine jointly exporting to third markets, especially in Africa and Asia.
Both presidents said they believed that a free-trade agreement between the two countries would be signed soon.
As part of Zelensky’s visit, a memorandum of understanding was also signed between Serbia’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy and Ukraine’s State Service for Food Safety and Consumer Protection. The document provides for cooperation in the fields of animal health and food safety.
The Ukrainian president arrived in Belgrade on the evening of August 7. At the airport, he was received by Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Đedović Handanović, and later held a meeting with Vučić over an organized dinner.
The visit had been announced long in advance and took place three weeks after the Ukraine–Southeast Europe summit in Kyiv. At that meeting, Vučić was the only leader who did not sign the joint declaration.
The declaration emphasized the need to increase pressure on Russia, with the aim of bringing its invasion of Ukraine to an end.
Protest by a small far-right group with Russian flags and pictures of Putin
Dozens of people gathered briefly in central Belgrade to oppose Zelensky’s visit. The gathering was organized at the invitation of Mladen Obradović, leader of the far-right organization “Obraz,” which is banned in Serbia.
The participants gathered near the monument to Russian Tsar Nicholas, close to the Presidency of Serbia, and carried Russian and Serbian flags, as well as flags displaying portraits of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The protest ended without incident and took place under a limited police presence.
In a statement to Radio Free Europe, Obradović described the event as a spontaneous public conference. He said the aim was to express opposition to the reception of the Ukrainian president, which he described as a “disgrace for the Serbian state.”
Meanwhile, 100 right-wing figures published a statement opposing the invitation for Zelensky to visit Serbia. In it, the Ukrainian president was described as “the main culprit for the war between Russia and Ukraine and an agent of NATO and the European Union.”
Although Belgrade continues to present the European Union as Serbia’s strategic orientation, it is not cutting ties with Russia, on which the country relies heavily for its gas supplies.
