Kosovo has a Serb minority, most of whom are concentrated in northern areas near the border with Serbia.
Serbia’s refusal to recognize Kosovo has been a stumbling block in the Balkan country’s EU accession process. Belgrade has also caused further frustration in the EU by objecting to, or blocking, Kosovo’s attempts to join international organizations.
On Thursday, Peter Stano, a spokesman for the European Commission, warned Serbia against its attempts to prevent Kosovo from joining such organizations.
Stano said moves of this kind violate an agreement reached in February 2023 which requires both Serbia and Kosovo to respect each other’s membership bids in international bodies.
But in an interview for the Serbian weekly magazine NIN, Christopher Hill, the U.S. ambassador to Belgrade, said that while Brussels expects Serbia and Kosovo to normalize relations, formal recognition of Kosovo’s independence by Belgrade will not be a prerequisite for
EU membership.
“I don’t think so,” he said when asked if recognition was a condition.
“What the Europeans are asking for is exactly what they say they are asking for, and that is normalization. They want peace and security in the region, and certainly between Kosovo and Serbia.
“I think they have said very clearly that there are members of the European Union that do not recognize Kosovo, so the real issue is to try and achieve the normalization where those borders will not be the borders that divide, but the borders that unite.”
Commenting on
Serbia’s stance on sanctions imposed on Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine, Hill added that Washington would prefer Belgrade to join these measures, but he also acknowledged Serbia’s clear opposition to Russian aggression in Ukraine.
Despite Serbia’s refusal to align with EU sanctions on Moscow, the country has opposed Russia in UN General Assembly votes concerning the war in Ukraine.
President Aleksandar Vučić emphasized Serbia’s traditionally favorable relations with Russia but said this did not mean unconditional support for all Kremlin decisions.
