Pristina mayor removes Ukrainian flag from city center building after Zelensky’s visit to Serbia

On Sunday, the Ukrainian flag was removed from a building in the center of the Kosovo capital Pristina. City mayor Perparim Rama posted a video of the incident on Facebook, stating that “the state of Kosovo must be respected.”

This was reported by Yevropeyska Pravda.

Rama accompanied the video with a statement explaining his position.

“When Kosovo is not respected, the capital Pristina always reacts the same way. Our sympathy and solidarity will always be with the peoples facing war, violence, and persecution. Because we, better than many others, know what it means to fight for freedom, dignity, and the right to exist as a state,” the Pristina mayor wrote.

Rama also specified that “no cause and no policy can be based on the humiliation of Kosovo’s statehood and the suffering of its people.”

What preceded it

On August 8, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Serbia, where he met with President Aleksandar Vučić. At a joint press conference, Zelensky was asked whether Serbian citizens could still “count on Ukraine’s firm position of non-recognition of Kosovo’s unilaterally declared independence.”

“Our position on what you mentioned — the unilateral declaration of Kosovo’s independence — remains unchanged. We have always emphasized this, and Ukraine’s policy has not changed. We are likewise grateful to our partners for respecting Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, including, of course, Crimea’s belonging to Ukraine. Serbia’s position on this is also unchanged, including at the UN General Assembly,” Zelensky said.

During the same visit, Vučić stated that he does not believe Serbia will be able to join the EU in the near future.