If Israel recognizes Kosovo, Serbia will not move the embassy

By recognizing Kosovo as an independent state, Israel would damage relations with Serbia, and in that case, Belgrade would not fulfill its promise to move its embassy to Israel, despite the fact that this is one of the items of the agreement that the Balkan countries signed in the White House, according to the Israeli media, referring to a source close to the Serbian authorities.

"Serbia will not move its embassy to Jerusalem if Israel recognizes Kosovo as an independent state," the source said, adding that "with that move, Israel would damage the otherwise close relationship between Israel and Serbia, which would never be the same again."

"It could end in total chaos if there is no compromise on what kind of relationship Israel will ultimately have with Kosovo," a source who wished to remain anonymous told The Times of Israel. "Diplomatic relations with Kosovo are one thing, recognition as an independent state is a completely different thing. This will destroy the relations between Israel and Serbia," said the source.

The newspaper "Jerusalem Post" also reported the statement of an anonymous source who claims to be close to the authorities in Belgrade, in which he says that "many believe that recognizing Kosovo would be like countries unilaterally recognizing Palestine."

Israel has not yet recognized Kosovo's independence, and analysts claim that the main reason for this is because it does not want to set a precedent for recognizing a Palestinian state.

When asked if Serbia did not tacitly agree to Kosovo and Israel establishing relations, the source said that the two sides signed separate agreements and that "the document signed by Vučić does not say anything about Israel's recognition of Kosovo."

The agreements, which were signed in Washington by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Kosovo Prime Minister Avdulah Hoti, differed only in the item that, in the case of Serbia, referred to the relocation of the embassy to Jerusalem, while the agreement with Pristina states that "Kosovo and Israel agreed to are mutually recognized".

The first questions about Serbia's commitment to opening an embassy in Jerusalem appeared immediately after the signing in Washington, as Vučić looks confused at one point in the video footage from the ceremony. There were speculations on social media that he didn't actually know what he was signing, but the President of Serbia later said that he was well aware of the content of the agreement, "The Times of Israel" writes.

In recent days, Serbian officials, especially after the warning of the European Union that the decision to relocate the embassy is not in accordance with the policy of the bloc, have been trying to deviate from the promise made in Washington.

In an interview with Sarajevo's "Dnevni Avaz", Vučić said that Israel is a sovereign state, that it has the right to do what it wants, and that Serbia "sent a very clear message to Israel".

The former ambassador of Israel in Belgrade, Artur Kohl, told the Israeli media that Vučić said that Israel's decision to recognize Kosovo was not related to the agreement signed in the White House and that it was Israel's own decision, and also that the relocation of the Serbian embassy was conditional on respecting Serbia's interests.

"That's a big hint that they're not going to move the embassy at all," Cole said. The spokesman of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lior Hayat, said yesterday in reaction to the media's writing that Israel deeply appreciates the relations with Serbia, which have improved during the Vučić government.

"We have no doubt that this relationship will continue to deepen even after the decision to move the Serbian embassy to Jerusalem," Hayat said.