site.btaPresident Vucic: Serbia May Quit Council of Europe if Kosovo Is Admitted

Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic said that if Kosovo is admitted to the Council of Europe, one of the options is Serbia to leave this organization, media in Belgrade report.

"We will see whether Serbia will stay in the Council of Europe or not," Vucic said on Friday night in a broadcast on Serbian TV Prva.

Asked by the presenter whether this was one of the options if Kosovo joined the Council of Europe, Vucic confirmed that it was "one of the possibilities".

He pointed out that Russia had been excluded from the Council of Europe and noted that Kosovo's de facto admission would imply Serbia's exclusion from the pan-European organization, which has 46 member states.

Belgrade does not recognize the independence that its former province of Kosovo declared in 2008. The two countries are engaged in a EU-mediated dialogue on normalizing their relations. Countries that do not recognize an independent Kosovo also include Russia, China, and five EU Member States. 

Kosovo applied for membership of the Council of Europe in May 2022. The organization promotes cooperation between European countries in the fields of law, democracy, human rights and culture.