Zelensky in Belgrade: Ukraine's Stance on Kosovo Unchanged
Zelensky made his first official visit to Serbia, arriving in Belgrade to sign a food safety memorandum, while both leaders spoke from the same podium about territorial integrity.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met on August 8 at the Palace of Serbia in Belgrade, in the first official bilateral meeting between the two heads of state on Serbian soil. After a one on one conversation and a meeting of the two delegations, the sides signed a memorandum on cooperation in animal health and food safety, and both leaders then addressed the media.
The visit followed a schedule released in advance by the media office of the Serbian president: a formal welcome outside the Palace of Serbia at 10:30, a one on one conversation at 10:45, a meeting of the delegations at 11:15, the signing of the memorandum at noon, and statements to the press at 12:05. The Ukrainian president was welcomed with a red carpet, a Serbian Army Guard formation, and the anthems of both countries, with ministers Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic, Jagoda Lazarevic, and Dragan Glamocic attending the ceremony. Ahead of the official part of the visit, which we reported on when it was announced, Vucic hosted a dinner for his Ukrainian guest the evening before.
What Did Zelensky Say About Kosovo?
Responding to a question from an RTS journalist about the two countries’ shared European path, the Ukrainian president first spoke about the partnership, then offered the formulation most closely followed in Belgrade:
Our stance on Kosovo remains unchanged. We are grateful to our partners as well for respecting our territorial integrity, including Crimea.
Ukraine has not recognized Kosovo’s unilaterally declared independence, and that sentence confirms the existing position. But it was delivered at a joint press conference, standing next to the Serbian president, which marks a shift from earlier statements out of Kyiv.
Minutes earlier, Vucic had framed the same topic more broadly, through United Nations documents:
We support the UN Charter, the UN resolutions, which means the territorial integrity of all UN member states, which means the territorial integrity of Ukraine, and we are very grateful to Ukraine for supporting the territorial integrity of Serbia.
The Serbian president added that many are pushing the two countries to be rivals. “We really are partners, not rivals, and on the issue of territorial integrity we have always been friends,” Vucic said.
The Memorandum, Iron Ore, and Railways
The only document signed during the visit was a Memorandum of Understanding between Serbia’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management and Ukraine’s State Service on Food Safety and Consumer Protection, covering animal health and food safety. Both presidents attended the signing.
The figures Vucic presented show trade is growing:
- last year, about $450 million in total goods trade
- in the first six months of 2026 alone, already about $321 million
- the most significant Ukrainian import is iron ore, along with merchant soybeans, soybean meal, and flaxseed
- Serbia exports fruit saplings, sunflower seeds, and baby food to Ukraine
If the pace from the first half of the year holds through December, annual trade would top half a billion dollars for the first time, a milestone measured not by statements but by customs data at year’s end.
Vucic also said that after his recent visit to Kyiv, he came away impressed by Ukraine’s railway network. “I believe we can learn a great deal from Ukraine on this, including from their state companies, and that we can work together to improve our transport network in Serbia,” he said. He also announced help with medicine, and for the winter period, support in the energy sector and with equipment.
An Airport Welcome Without the President
Zelensky arrived in Belgrade a day earlier, welcomed at Nikola Tesla Airport by Mining and Energy Minister Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic. Vucic, who has almost always greeted high profile guests in person in the past, was not on the tarmac that day. Part of the public read the detail as a departure from the protocol under which a head of state is welcomed by a host of equal rank, though Vucic met his guest at dinner that evening, embracing the Ukrainian president in front of the cameras.
What went unsaid also stands out. The Ukrainian president’s first official visit to Serbia went almost unmentioned in Russian language media operating in Serbian, and the topic of Serbian weapons reaching the Ukrainian front through intermediaries was not raised at the press conference.
The EU Path and Money for Survival
Asked about EU membership, Zelensky ruled out any delay. “Ukraine has no time for skepticism, we are at war, we understand what Ukraine must become in the future,” he said, adding that his country had reached unity around joining the EU. He also spoke about the money:
There was a positive decision on around 90 billion euros, and we have already thanked the European Union leaders who, no matter how difficult it was, found a way to support Ukraine with this money. That is our survival.
Vucic responded that Serbia will not block anyone’s path to the EU and wants Ukraine to open all negotiating clusters as soon as possible, but was more guarded about his own country. As a political veteran, he said, he does not currently see a realistic prospect of Serbia’s membership any time soon, for political reasons.
The next test of what was agreed today is concrete: the food safety memorandum requires follow up regulations on both sides, and the announced free trade agreement and investment in rebuilding a Ukrainian city have neither a signature nor a deadline.
