Russian daily: Washington agreement can have severe geopolitical result

RTS

Belgrade and Pristina formally agreed to establish economic ties, but that can have severe geopolitical consequences because that will weaken Serbia's dependence on Russian gas and ensure the two sides join the US-led security system, Moscow's national Kommersant daily has reported on Monday.

The daily said Moscow had not yet officially reacted to the documents signed at the White House, but that it was ‘partially posted on the Facebook by the Russian Foreign Ministry's spokesperson Maria Zakharova.

Kommersant said that the main political novelty was in point 15, where Kosovo agreed it would not seek the membership to international institutions for a year. At the same time, Serbia would refrain from campaigning for the withdrawal of the decision to recognise Pristina's independence for the same period.

The last topic regarding the relations between Kosovo and Serbia with Israel was even less expected, the daily said.

It recalled that Russia had warned Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic about some things that ended in the final agreement signed in the US.

In the meantime, Vucic talked with Russia's Foreign Affairs MinisterSergey Lavrov and according to Moscow's sources informed him about the US meetings details. Zaharova later said her tweet was misinterpreted and apologised, while Serbia's outgoing Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said the “story was over.”

Vucic and Kosovo's Prime Minister agreed on main economic issuesat the White House's three-day meetings, and the US President Donald Trump attended the signing ceremony.