2024-03-23 14:31:32
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that if Kosovo is admitted to the Council of Europe, one possibility is for Serbia to leave the organization, Belgrade media reported.
“We will see whether or not Serbia will remain in the Council of Europe,” Vucic said last night in a program on Serbian television TV Parva.
When asked by the presenter if this is one of the options if Kosovo enters the Council of Europe, Vucic confirmed that it is “one of the possibilities”.
He recalled that Russia was excluded from the Council of Europe and noted that the acceptance of Kosovo would de facto mean the exclusion of Serbia from the pan-European organization, in which 46 countries are members.
Belgrade does not recognize the independence declared in 2008 by its former province of Kosovo. The two countries are conducting a dialogue to normalize their relations with the mediation of the EU. Among the countries that do not recognize an independent Kosovo are also Russia, China and five EU member states, BTA reports.
Kosovo applied for membership of the Council of Europe last year. The organization promotes cooperation between European countries in the field of law, democracy, human rights and cultural cooperation.