Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said his country was "under increasing pressure" to recognize Kosovo's independence. 

He said the situation in Serbia "has changed for the worse", following statements by Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

The latter, on April 26, compared Kosovo to the two separatist regions in Ukraine, Donetsk and Luhansk, commonly known as the Donbas. Russia, like Serbia, does not recognize Kosovo's independence. 

Addressing the nation on Friday afternoon, Vucic said that "the whole West will ask Serbia to move quickly towards the recognition of Kosovo's independence, in order to tell Putin that Kosovo can not be compared to that which is happening on the territory of Ukraine. 

According to him, "a small number of countries say that they are in favor of the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina" and that "a growing number requires mutual recognition." 

Vucic said that Serbia "is paying a high price" for the fact that it has not imposed sanctions on Russia, due to the occupation of Ukraine. 

Serbia remains the only country in the Western Balkans that has not sanctioned the Russian state, despite calls from the European Union and the United States. 

Vucic's speech follows his stay in Berlin on May 4th. Vucic and the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, were received in separate meetings by the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz. 

The latter has ordered that the recognition of Kosovo by Serbia should be part of the agreement for the normalization of relations between the two countries. Kurti, after the meeting, said that "mutual recognition should be at the center and not at the end of the negotiation process with Serbia." 

Vucic, on the other hand, said that Serbia "will do its best to reach a compromise solution". The dialogue for the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, mediated by the European Union, started in 2011. The parties have reached dozens of agreements, but most of them have not been implemented on the ground.

(Source: REL)