The number of nations that have signaled their readiness to revoke recognition of Kosovo has increased to ten, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said on Tuesday. Belgrade is intensifying its de-recognition campaign in response to what it sees as Kosovo’s violation of agreements reached with Serbia, Dacic told Serbia’s Vecernje Novosti media outlet.
The minister refused to disclose the names of the countries that made the decision, arguing that the nations involved should be protected from pressure that could be exerted by Kosovo’s powerful backers.
“We respect their position and do not want to expose them to any pressure from Pristina, especially from its allies,” Dacic said, adding that “we have to be careful.” According to Vecernje Novosti, the list includes nations from Africa, the Caribbean, and the Asia-Pacific regions. Some of them are “influential” regional players capable of causing a “domino effect” when it comes to the de-recognition of Kosovo, the media outlet claimed.
According to Dacic, Belgrade intensified its Kosovo de-recognition campaign in response to Pristina supposedly violating agreements reached with Serbia in Washington back in 2020. At that time, Kosovo agreed to suspend seeking membership in international organizations in exchange for Serbia halting its de-recognition campaign. Pristina’s application for EU membership demonstrated that it no longer considers itself bound by the provisions of that agreement, Vecernje Novosti reported.
Before striking the 2020 deal, Belgrade claimed it had managed to convince 18 nations to withdraw their recognition of Kosovo. Serbia never officially named these nations either. Yet, according to Vecernje Novosti, the list includes Sierra Leone, Suriname, Togo, Ghana, Nauru, the Union of Comoros, Sao Tome and Principe, Guinea-Bissau, Burundi, Liberia, Lesotho, Grenada, Madagascar, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Palau, and the Central African Republic.
Not all EU members recognize Kosovo: Greece, Romania, Slovakia, and Spain are in no rush to do so. Madrid also said in December that it would oppose granting Pristina EU candidacy status.