Statement by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia, Nikola Selaković

26. Sep 2022.
The head of Croatian diplomacy, Gordan Grlić Radman, publicly stated that the recognition of the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo by Serbia is inevitable. This is a step out of the framework of the EU's official policy, which, let me remind you, holds a status-neutral position on this issue.

Despite Minister Grlić Radman’s wishes, Serbia will certainly not recognize the unilaterally declared independence of its southern province, and it has a range of valid reasons for that. Our arguments are firmly based in international law, the valid Resolution 1244 of the UN Security Council, and fundamental principles on which modern international relations rest.

The position of Croatian diplomacy on this issue is, to put it mildly, contradictory, because Croatia today defends the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine by referring to the principle of sovereignty and inviolability of the territorial integrity of states, and at the same time denies the same rights to Serbia, which is neither principled nor in the spirit of good neighbourly relations.

The principles of international law must be universal in order to be principles at all, and any deviation from the rules and acceptance of precedents renders international law meaningless and undermines its foundations.

In the current geopolitical situation, many countries have become painfully aware that violations of international law and principles have a boomerang effect, which is why there is a growing number of those who are withdrawing their recognition of Kosovo’s self-proclaimed independence.

We expect that the Republic of Croatia will also follow this path, not only because of its commitment to international law, but also because, we hope, it sees the importance of building stable neighbourly relations with the Republic of Serbia.