Experts estimate for daily Danas that the election of the new president of the United States, Donald Trump, unlikely leads to a radical change in foreign policy of Russia, including changing attitudes of Kremlin towards Serbia.
Commenting on the recent statements of some Ukrainian officials that it is possible that Russia will recognize the independence of Kosovo in talks with the United States in order to maintain its power in the Crimea, the familiar with the situation say that such a scenario is unrealistic.
Misha Glenny, a British journalist and lecturer at Columbia University, told Danas that it is difficult to assess whether Russia could recognize Kosovo because of Trump, but that all those who think they know how he will act as president of America, did not realize his essence.
– I do not expect anything good from Trump, but in what form, I really do not know, indicates interlocutor of Danas.
Erkki Bahovski, an Estonian diplomat and former European Commission official, says to Danas that the Russians will not recognize Kosovo’s independence certainly.
– Refusal to recognize the independence of Kosovo is the cornerstone of the foreign policy of the Russian Federation. Russia often uses the Western intervention in Kosovo as a counter-argument in discussions about the Russian invasion. What seems more likely is that Donald Trump would try to broker some kind of agreement with Russia on Syria. It remains to be seen exactly in what way and whether at all would be reached, but the recognition of Kosovo by Russia goes beyond the wildest imagination, considered Bahovski.
Representatives of the diplomatic circles in Brussels for Danas also unofficially comment that one cannot expect that the administration of Russian President Vladimir Putin would change its position on Kosovo, just as it is “inconceivable that Belgrade introduces sanctions to Russia”.
“Great powers, like Russia, do not easily change course of their longstanding foreign policy,” interlocutors of Danas indicate.
Recall, during the last week of stay of Ukrainian officials in Belgrade, Deputy Chairman of Crimean Assembly Refat Chubarov stated that “the great powers now bargain and no one knows how this mosaic will be composed.”
“I’m talking about the case of Kosovo, too. Already there are plans to exchange Kosovo for the Crimea; those are the forecasts of people from Trump’s environment. Due to the catastrophic result of the sanctions, Russia now actively seek opportunities to change its position and to get its position closer to the cooperation with the United States while preserving its interests,” Chubarov said, adding that Russia would be ready to compromise solutions and concessions in order to gain power over the Crimea.
