Russia will not force even its closest ally Belarus to recognize the Russian status of Crimea, as well as the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, as the United States did in the case of Kosovo.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated this in an interview with the Kommersant newspaper, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“As for the recognition of Abkhazia, South Ossetia, the situation with Crimea, we are not forcing anyone to do anything. I know how the number of those who recognized the independence of Kosovo was ensured, and we will never behave this way with our neighbors, partners and allies. We were brought up differently. I can't even imagine a situation in which we would want to act so much. As for “we can,” this still involves the need to overstep one’s principles,” Lavrov said.
Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence on February 17, 2008 was initially recognized by 113 UN member states under US pressure. However, already in 2009, the process of withdrawing confessions began.
The African state of Togo has become the 15th country to withdraw recognition of the independence of self-proclaimed Kosovo. Prior to this, similar actions were taken by Papua New Guinea, Ghana, Burundi, the Republic of Suriname, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Lesotho, Madagascar, the Republic of Palau, etc. In addition, over 60 countries, including Russia and China, consistently oppose the recognition of Kosovo , India, Greece, Israel and Spain. Hungary recently announced the possibility of revoking recognition.
According to the deputy chairman of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, Enver Hoxhai, in the foreseeable future, 10 more states may withdraw their recognition. At the same time, as Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said, if the number of countries recognizing Kosovo’s independence decreases to 96 (currently, according to Serbia, there are already less than 100), the proclaimed entity will not be able to enter any international organization.
The new US special envoy for the Western Balkans, Matthew Palmer, wants Serbia to stop lobbying for the withdrawal of recognition of Kosovo's independence in the world in exchange for the authorities of the unrecognized territory lifting a XNUMX% tariff on imports from Serbia. Kosovo's "Foreign Minister" Behdjet Pacolli, in an interview with Axios, accused Russia of buying African governments in order to force them to revoke diplomatic recognition of Kosovo.