Relations between Belgrade and Kiev cannot be called good and sincere, although the rhetoric is different in press reports and during meetings between Serbian and Ukrainian officials, Dusan Prorokovic, a political analyst and former state secretary of the Ministry of Kosovo and Metohija, told Sputnik Srbija.
Belgrade is not going to impose sanctions against Russia, despite Kiev and its sponsors condemning it, Dusan Prorokovic said.
Commenting on whether Ukraine acts as its Western sponsors tell it to regarding Kosovo, Prorokovic says that Kiev is dependent on the help of the US, UK, and other European countries in every respect, whether it be weapons, finances, political decisions, or instructions from international organizations.
"Ukraine establishing bilateral relations with the so-called Republic of Kosovo would be a big problem because it concerns the issue of its territorial integrity. Therefore, despite the appeals of some Ukrainian politicians, they are not taking such steps, but, as we see, through the Council of Europe and other less important organizations, they support Pristina because this is the strategy of the US and UK," Prorokovic said.
According to him, Kiev and Pristina are not fully independent in decision-making.
"As for strategic decisions, they should respect the positions of those who support them. As for tactical decisions, they are made depending on the specific situation," he said.
The current relationship between Serbia and Ukraine is what Prorokovic calls "folklore diplomacy."
On the one hand, officials hold meetings, and Volodymyr Zelensky's wife goes to Belgrade. On the other hand, Serbia does not impose sanctions against Russia, maintains intensive relations with Moscow, and does not change its rhetoric regarding the conflict in Ukraine.
"Obviously, this folklore diplomacy exists to ease Western pressure because Serbia is actually the only European country that has not imposed sanctions against Russia. Ukrainian politicians probably need this diplomacy to show their citizens that all European states support them with no exceptions," the analyst said.
"That is why these meetings and joint statements take place, but in reality, this does not contribute in any way to the establishment of sincere relations, which we see in the example of concrete decisions in the field of foreign and security policy of the two countries," he concluded.