By Bernama
Seoul : Serbia warned Friday that South Korea risks damaging ties with the Balkan nation by recognizing Kosovo, which declared independence last month.
“It is a very unfortunate decision,” Serbian Ambassador to Seoul Zoran Veljic told Yonhap News Agency by phone, adding that “It is an act that denies Serbia’s territorial sovereignty.”
He said Serbia-South Korea relations will not “be the same as before.”
South Korea announced its decision to recognise Kosovo, joining a host of European nations, the United States, Japan, and others that support its independence declared on Feb. 17, despite opposition from Russia and Serbia.
“The government expects Kosovo’s independence to serve as a stepping stone for not only democratic development and economic rehabilitation but also regional peace and security,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Moon Tae-young said.
Moon expressed hope that Seoul’s decision will not affect its relations with Serbia.
But the ambassador said that his government will take actions including the sending of a protest letter to the South Korean Foreign Ministry and concrete steps will be considered, he added.
The sensitive issue of Kosovo has been considered a litmus test for the diplomatic policy of the new Lee Myung-bak government, whose mantra is pragmatism.
The ambassador emphasised that Kosovo’s move has never received formal endorsement from the United Nations and said that South Korea, which was established with the help of the global body, is breaking its rule.