Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic expects that by the end of the year, the number of countries that have recognized Kosovo's independence will be below 100 and warns that frozen conflicts in Kosovo may lead to the persecution of Serbs from that region and the slowdown in European integration.

Dacic said to Belgrade-based TV Pink this morning that the frozen conflict could lead to repetition of the "Croatian scenario" - i.e. ''that Albanians attack Kosovo north and expel Serbs with the tacit consent of the international community, '' Serbian media quote.

"Serbia would then face an important question about what to do, whether to defend the Serbs, to intervene and enter into conflict with KFOR, NATO, which means that this conflict can be expanded. The question is, in the event of a conflict, on who Serbia can count on, and whether it means us addressing Russia," Dacic said.

By the end of the year, he expects the number of states that have recognized Kosovo's independence to be below 100, then adding jokingly, "I can retire."

He estimates that Pristina is now in a great defensive, and that it spends most of the time in talks with countries that have already recognized Kosovo not to change the decision.