Politico reported on Zelensky's clumsy move during a visit to Serbia

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky had to learn from his own experience that there can be no accidental statements about Kosovo. The Politico newspaper writes about this on August 12.

"Vladimir Zelensky's trip to Serbia over the weekend caused a wave of resonance in the Balkans long before the Ukrainian president returned to Kiev. <...> He intervened in the most acute regional dispute, saying that Ukraine would continue not to recognize the independence of Kosovo," the article says.

It is clarified that during his visit to Serbia, the Ukrainian leader confirmed Kiev's position on the non-recognition of Kosovo.

The reaction, as indicated in the newspaper, followed immediately. A huge blue and yellow banner in support of Kiev, which had been hanging on the main highway of Pristina since 2022, was removed. The mayor of Kosovo's capital, Perparim Rama, said that "respect must be mutual."

Zelensky quarreled with Kosovo for the sake of dialogue with Serbia. What you need to know

Zelensky arrived in Serbia for the first time on an official visit on August 8. Former Deputy Prime Minister of the republic and founder of the Movement of Socialists party, Alexander Vulin, in turn, noted that the visit did not meet the wishes of the country's citizens, and the opposition parliamentary movement "We are the Power of the People" stressed that Zelensky's arrival in Belgrade would deal a serious blow to Serbian-Russian relations. Political analyst Nikolay Mezhevich expressed the opinion that the president of Ukraine came to Serbia for the sake of PR.