The large Ukrainian flag, which has been raised in the center of Pristina since the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict as a sign of support for Ukraine, was taken down today (August 9), reports the Serbian Republika, quoted by Focus.
The flag was taken down a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to Belgrade, where he stressed that Ukraine's position not to recognize Kosovo's independence remains unchanged.
Yesterday in Belgrade, Zelensky stated that Ukraine does not change its position on respecting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia in relation to Kosovo and Metohija.
"We respect the territorial integrity of our partners, we respect international law – this is our position. As for what you said about the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo, it remains unchanged. We have always emphasized this and Ukrainian policy has not changed," the Serbian media quoted Zelensky as saying.
For this statement, the President of Ukraine was subjected to very sharp criticism from the institutions and media in Kosovo.
In response to Zelensky's comment in Pristina, local authorities took down Ukrainian flags. A video of the flag being taken down was published by the city's mayor, Perparim Rama.
“The state of Kosovo must be respected. When Kosovo is not respected, the capital Pristina reacts!“, he wrote on Facebook.