17 January 2019•Update: 18 January 2019
By Talha Ozturk
BELGRADE, Serbia
Russia's President Vladimir Putin on Thursday backed a mutual solution for Kosovo which has been a long issue in the Balkans and European countries.
Putin's remarks came in a joint news conference with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in capital Belgrade.
He said Russia on the Kosovo issue is committed to achieving a mutually acceptable compromise in line with UN Security Council Resolution 1244.
"We are in favor of achieving a mutually acceptable compromise in accordance with Resolution 1244. Unfortunately, there have been several provocative steps, first of I am thinking of forming the Kosovo Army, it is a direct violation of Resolution 1244," said Putin.
Vucic said that Serbia is always ready for talks and compromises, but it is not ready for humiliation.
"I'm afraid some are not ready. We will continue to seek compromises and insist on it...
"As for Russia, without Russia and its strength in the UN Security Council, it is clear that there will be no solution. Before each decision, I will consult with President Putin. I do not see a solution, I hope, but I do not think that we will achieve it in a short time, " said Vucic.
Defying NATO and Serb opposition, Kosovo's parliament in December overwhelmingly passed a law making a 5,000-strong standing Kosovar army a reality.
Serbia claims that the establishment of the Kosovo army would be a violation of the UN Security Council Resolution 1244.
The resolution authorized an international civil and military presence in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and established the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo.
Ahead of Putin's visit, Serbia's Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said that Serbia has full support from Russia to reach a compromise on Kosovo, but Putin does not bring Belgrade a solution for Kosovo.
"He does not make a decision, he is asking us what the solution is. We regularly exchange information with them in the last five or six years, since I was the prime minister," he told regional news media N1.
Vucic and Putin also held one-on-one and delegation-level meetings before signing more than 20 agreements and memorandums of cooperation in various areas.
This is the fourth visit by the President of Russia to of Serbia.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, but Belgrade insists the country remains part of Serbia. Since then, tensions have persisted between Kosovo’s ethnic-Albanian majority and a small Serb minority in the north.
Kosovo’s independence is recognized by over 100 countries, including the U.S., Britain, France, Germany Turkey.
Serbia, Russia, and China are among the countries which have not yet recognized its independence.
