Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that he had received an ultimatum from influential Western countries to normalize relations with Kosovo, or face measures that would cause "great harm" to his country.

President Vucic said in press statements, Monday evening, that he received a plan during a meeting last week with representatives of the European Union, the United States, France, Germany and Italy aimed at ending the long-running tension with Kosovo.

He added that they told him, "You must accept this plan, otherwise you will face stopping and stopping the process of European integration, divestment and comprehensive economic and political measures, which will cause great harm to the Republic of Serbia."

Speaking during a televised press conference, Vucic indicated that the Serbian parliament would have to discuss the plan, hinting at the possibility of a referendum.

The Serbian president did not disclose what was included in the plan, but stressed that without the European Union, Serbia would become an isolated country.

German plan

And the German news agency reported that the German-French plan to normalize relations between Serbia and Kosovo stipulates - among other things - that the two countries will not officially recognize each other, but will mutually accept the existence of each other's state within its current borders.

According to the same plan, Serbia will stop blocking Kosovo's requests to become a member of international organizations.

Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008 after a bloody war in the late 1990s.

Belgrade and its two main allies, Moscow and Beijing, refused to recognize Kosovo's independence, which denied Pristina a seat at the United Nations.


European Union

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Monday that the meetings in Kosovo and Serbia focused on "discussing the proposal to normalize relations. We stressed that progress in this proposal will bring great benefits to both sides."

Serbia has been a candidate to join the European Union for more than a decade, but the normalization of relations with Kosovo is a major condition for advancing the membership file.

"Serbia must remain on its path to joining the European Union, because without that we will be lost economically and politically. If we are alone and isolated, this is not something I would accept as president," Vucic stressed.

It should be noted that tension has flared up between Belgrade and Pristina since the tenth of last December, when groups from the Serb minority in northern Kosovo began setting up truck barricades, to protest against the arrest of former Serbian police officer Diane Pantek by the Pristina authorities on suspicion of "terrorist acts."

Kosovo later released the officer, and the Serbian president asked those groups to remove the barriers.