During a recent address to the media, the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, referred to a letter from parliamentarians from several countries, which spoke about relations between Serbia and Kosovo, and he was particularly bothered because the letter contained the signature of a Ukrainian parliamentarian Oleksandr Merezhko. Merezhko, in the Verkhovna Rada, the parliament of Ukraine, in addition to representing the "Servant of the People" party of Ukrainian President Zelensky, is also the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee. During his address, the President of Serbia indirectly threatened Ukraine not to recognize Kosovo as an independent country and that it could lose a lot by doing so. He receives an answer from Kyiv that his threats will not have any influence on the decision of the Ukrainian president if and when he decides to recognize Kosovo because it is his constitutional right.

“Well, first of all, I was shocked by the completely unacceptable, undiplomatic way in which the President of Serbia presented his threats. Because what we have are absolutely unacceptable threats and even blackmail. This is how I perceive his statement to us. You know it when you see it. that other countries have already recognized Kosovo as an independent state, including our closest allies. I'm sure it's our sovereign right to decide whether to recognize or not. And it's not up to Mr. Vučić to teach us or dictate to us what to do or threaten us. This is absolutely shocking and unacceptable. As far as recognition is concerned, under our Constitution, that is the prerogative of our President because the President is responsible for conducting foreign policy, including recognition issues. At this point, I understand that our Department of Foreign Affairs does not consider this issue expedient. Perhaps this means that a decision on this issue will be delayed until the end of the war. That is my guess. But there is currently no indication that Ukraine will officially recognize Kosovo. But at the same time, as far as we know, I am a member of the Ukrainian delegation in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and as far as we know, the issue of Kosovo's admission to the Council of Europe can be decided. by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. And the members of the Ukrainian delegation will have to decide on this issue themselves, including me. So, one way or another, we have to deal with this issue. Of course, politically and legally it is a complicated issue. But at the same time, in our parliament, I would like to emphasize this point, the parliament does not decide whether or not to recognize Kosovo, but at the same time there are some of my colleagues who are strong advocates, who express their support for the recognition of Kosovo it makes sense to me. Of course, there are arguments for and against and we have to make a decision that I think as members of our delegation in the parliamentary assembly of the council we have to decide on this issue ourselves. But it is an important question because you can see that we can distinguish, we can see certain similarities between Kosovo and Ukraine. Ukraine is currently exposed to genocide. Russia is waging and waging a genocidal war against Ukraine, and as far as I remember from the history of Kosovo, Kosovo was in a similar situation. There were so-called ethnic cleansings. In reality, it was a euphemism for genocide and gave us a real moral right at least to claim and declare independence. So, there are certain similarities, but of course, before making the final decision, we must make it in a responsible way, weighing all the pros and cons of legal, moral, and political aspects,” Merezhko said.

We also asked Merezek, who was visiting Malaysia, about the concerns expressed by some within the European Union about the potential problems that Ukraine could bring to the Union when and if it becomes a member.

“My view is very simple. I am absolutely sure that Ukraine should become a full member of both NATO and the European Union as soon as possible. As for NATO, I believe that Ukraine can and should become a member of NATO before the end of the war. That's why our membership in NATO is, first of all, the only guarantee of our security and the only guarantee of security in Europe in the world. If you imagine for a moment that Ukraine now joins NATO, it would immediately stop Russia's aggression against Ukraine because Putin is afraid of Ukraine, but he is more afraid of NATO. He realizes that he is not able to do anything against NATO. And a good example is the entry of Finland and Sweden into NATO. Putin has not said a single word against this accession because he is afraid of NATO. What as far as the European Union is concerned, Ukraine will join the European Union as a full member. And I hope that by the end of this year, negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the European Union will begin. Because I am sure, Ukraine should not be seen as a burden, an economic burden for the European Union. On the contrary, it provides opportunities, including economic opportunities for the development of Ukraine as well, and, you know, it is Ukraine that is fighting for European values such as democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. And it is one of the countries that is ready to sacrifice its lives to defend its right to be a full member of the European family and to defend European values. values. We firmly believe in Europe and would be an asset, not a burden, for the European Union and its development,” says Merezhko.

Watch the video to see what else Merezhko is saying to the President of Serbia, how he views the Ukrainian counter-offensive, and also how and when war crimes in Ukraine should be prosecuted.