Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

declaration of independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

from

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

was enacted on 17 February 2008 by a unanimous vote of the

Assembly of Kosovo The Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Скупштина Републике Косово, Skupština Republike Kosovo) or the Kuvendi, is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Kosovo that is directly elected by the peo ...

. All 11 representatives of the Serb minority boycotted the proceedings. International reactions were mixed, and the global community continues to be divided on the issue of the recognition of Kosovo. Ukraine's reaction to Kosovo's declaration of independence was originally one of neutrality, but it became more strongly opposed to independence during the presidency of Pro-Russian Viktor Yanokovich. Currently, Ukraine officially retains a position of neutrality towards recognition of Kosovo as an independent state in order to maintain relations with Serbia.

History

2008–2022

On 18 February 2008, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that "The multilateral mechanisms, such as EU, OSCE, UN, should play an important role". On 22 February 2008, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Volodymyr Ohryzko, said that Ukraine was "checking all possibilities" on

recognition but cautioned that the process would "take some time." Ohryzko went on to say that he understood the US arguments very well, but was confident that they also understood the sensitivities of this issue for Ukraine. Ukrainian President

Viktor Yushchenko Viktor Andriiovych Yushchenko (, ; born 23 February 1954) is a Ukrainian politician who was the third president of Ukraine from 23 January 2005 to 25 February 2010. He aimed to orient Ukraine towards Western world, the West, European Union, and N ...

stated on 19 February 2008 that Ukraine's position on the situation is to first of all follow national interests and international law. He emphasised that Ukraine's position proceeds from the opinion that the decision on recognising Kosovo or not requires timing for most of the world's countries. "We proceed from hope that resources of regulation through talks have not been yet exhausted." On 16 April 2008, the Office of Mass Media Relations of the

Cabinet of Ministers A cabinet in governing is a group of people with the constitutional or legal task to rule a country or state, or advise a head of state, usually from the executive branch. Their members are known as ministers and secretaries and they are ...

of the Ukraine Secretariat issued the following statement on the Government Portal official website: "Ukraine will decide on its position concerning heindependence of Kosovo after corresponding assessment by international institutions". Ukrainian Prime Minister

Yulia Tymoshenko Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko ( Hrihyan born 27 November 1960) is a Ukrainian politician, who served as Prime Minister of Ukraine in 2005, and again from 2007 until 2010; the first and only woman in Ukraine to hold that position. She has been ...

furthermore stated that Ukraine lies in the neighbourhood of several countries facing territorial problems and "That's why before taking any decision, Ukraine wishes to know whether Kosovo is already a norm, a common practice or a unique event the world should react on". Tymoshenko noted that Ukraine is holding multilateral diplomatic consultations, with the aim of establishing how Kosovo independence is perceived, which will allow it to determine its stand in this issue. On 22 October 2008, Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Kostyantyn Yeliseyev stated that Ukraine intends to maintain its neutral stance. "If Ukraine chooses any position, the security of our peacemakers will be put in question," he said. On 4 December 2008, speaking at the

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the p ...

meeting about separatism that took place in 2008, Foreign Minister Volodymyr Ohryzko said that "Ukraine will never make a compromise on question of territorial integrity of any state". In October 2009, Ukrainian Ambassador to Russia

Kostyantyn Gryshchenko Kostyantyn Ivanovych Gryshchenko (also spelled Hryshchenko; ; born 28 October 1953) is a Ukrainian diplomat and politician. Since Ukraine gained independence, Kostyantyn Gryshchenko has served in a succession of senior positions with respon ...

said that there are no cases in which Ukraine should recognise Kosovo,

Abkhazia Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a List of states with limited recognition, partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia. It cover ...

South Ossetia South Ossetia, officially the Republic of South Ossetia or the State of Alania, is a landlocked country in the South Caucasus with International recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, partial diplomatic recognition. It has an offici ...

. On 4 June 2010, Ukrainian President

Viktor Yanukovych Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych (born 9 July 1950) is a Ukrainian politician who served as the fourth president of Ukraine from 2010 to 2014. He also served as the prime minister of Ukraine several times between 2002 and 2007 and was a member of t ...

said, "I have never recognized Abkhazia, South Ossetia or Kosovo's independence. This is a violation of

international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

". On 27 July 2010, Press Secretary of the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine Oleksandr Dikusarov said, "Ukraine's position not to recognize the independence of Kosovo remains unchanged: Relying on basic international legal documents… Ukraine is committed to the principle of absolute respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states with recognized international borders". The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification match between

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

and

was played in the Marshal Józef Piłsudski Stadium in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

on 9 October 2016, due to Ukraine's non-recognition of Kosovo's

travel documents A travel document is an identity document issued by a government or international entity pursuant to international agreements to enable individuals to clear border control measures. Travel documents usually assure other governments that the beare ...

2022–present

On 6 August 2022, a bill was proposed in the

Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada ( ; VR), officially the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, is the unicameralism, unicameral parliament of Ukraine. It consists of 450 Deputy (legislator), deputies presided over by a speaker. The Verkhovna Rada meets in the Verkhovn ...

by the opposition

European Solidarity European Solidarity (, ; , YeS) is a political party in Ukraine. It has its roots in a parliamentary group called Solidarity dating from 2000 and has existed since in various forms as a political outlet for Petro Poroshenko. The party with its the ...

party which would recognise Kosovo as an independent state if passed. In April 2023, Ukraine abstained from voting on Kosovo's membership application to join the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

, while at the same time Serbia voted in favour of Ukraine's sovereignty before the United Nations months earlier.

History

2008–2022

2022–present

See also