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Russia's Foreign Ministry has reacted after the Kosovo Government's decision to abolish the 100% tax on Serbian goods and establish the principle of reciprocity.
Through a reaction posted on the website of this ministry, it is stated that “the authorities in Pristina continue to manipulate the topic of 100% customs tax on goods coming from central Serbia, which were placed in November 2018 and resulted in the prevention of the process of resolving the Kosovo issue ”.
"Albin Kurti, the 'incumbent prime minister' of Kosovo, with another gesture of demagoguery, announced the abolition of tariffs on April 1, but temporary and with restrictions that present many preconditions. First, Kosovo insists on the 'principle of reciprocity', forcing Belgrade to label its goods according to Pristina's standards, which means agreeing to include the 'self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo' in documents that would imply indirect recognition of this quasi-state", it is said in the reaction of this ministry.
The Russian Foreign Ministry says that with this action, "Kosovars have not softened their stance as required by their Western patrons, but have tightened their preconditions."
"It is said that Washington, which fully supports Kosovo's 'independence', also criticized Pristina's latest move, which deliberately delays the possibility of resuming dialogue with Belgrade. In this context, the EU's ecstatic response seems strange, since, as one of the mediators, the EU must respond with a prudent assessment of the situation without favoring any of the parties," said the Russian Foreign Ministry.
"We believe that these anti-Serbian steps by the Kosovo authorities must be fully and unconditionally restored," the Russian Foreign Ministry concluded.
The 100 percent tax on imports from Serbia has led to a halt to the dialogue on the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia.
Against this tax, since its inception, the United States of America and the European Union have stated that since then, the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia has been interrupted.
Kosovo had also applied a measure of reciprocity to Serbia in July 2011.
This reciprocity at that time was taken after Serbia for three years after the declaration of independence, had blocked goods from Kosovo due to the change of stamps from those of UNMIK to those of the Republic of Kosovo.