By Genc Pollo
To clarify the perspective:
1- Ukraine's diplomatic non-recognition of Kosovo in terms of realpolitik and Kosovar state interest is as important/unimportant as Lukashenko's Belarus' non-recognition of Kosovo.
2- Of importance and consequence for Kosovo is the non-recognition by 5 member states of the European Union; respectively 4 of NATO. This situation is the main obstacle to European/Euro-Atlantic integration.
3- The obstacle to Kosovo's membership in the UN is Russia (currently at war with Ukraine) and China, since both of these countries are permanent members of the UN Security Council, i.e. with the right of veto. They have even threatened to veto if the proposal for Kosovo comes to the Council.
4- The Ukrainian president's statement in Belgrade deserves to be criticized, as it was abundantly and with reason in Pristina and Tirana. Whatever Zelensky's reasons, his stance sounds amoral and ungrateful in the face of the unanimous political support that Ukraine's resistance to Russian aggression has enjoyed in our country. But that's it.
Ukraine may have the same motives as Spain, Romania, Slovakia, and Cyprus: the fear of suffering a secession on their territory that risks being legitimized by the Kosovo precedent. With the difference we mentioned above: that Ukrainian non-recognition does less harm than the others.
In addition, the principle that the enemy of my enemy is my friend still applies. Russia will be hostile to Kosovo (and not only to it) in the near future at least. Therefore, we need to patiently and realistically call the Ukrainian state a kind of useful friend.
