A Serbian official cast doubt on Wednesday (September 9th) on the possibility of a move of the Serbian embassy to Jerusalem, saying the decision was "
not final
" a few days after the announcement of the transfer by the president American Donald Trump.
Read also: EU warns Serbia against moving embassy to Jerusalem
Israel emerged as the unexpected winner of a summit held Friday at the White House between Serbia and Kosovo, its former province from which it never recognized the independence proclaimed in 2008. During the meeting, Donald Trump announced that Kosovo had agreed to recognize the Hebrew state and that Serbia was moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was immediately delighted that Serbia became the first European country to agree to transfer its representation to the Holy City and thus follow in the footsteps of the United States.
The US president presented the decision as a done deal, but on Wednesday, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic's senior media adviser said it was not a "
final decision
."
“
So far, we haven't accepted anything, nothing has been signed,
” Suzana Vasiljevic told the local press.
"
We will follow the evolution of the situation, and the behavior of Israel as regards its relations with Kosovo
".
The Serbian Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to AFP's requests.
The Israeli press also quoted on Wednesday an anonymous source "
close
" to the Serbian president as saying that Belgrade would not transfer its embassy if Israel recognized Kosovo.
A victory for Kosovo, according to the United States
This recognition was presented as a victory for Kosovo, recognized by the United States and most of the Western countries but not by Belgrade supported by China and Russia.
The White House summit was officially devoted to “
economic normalization
” between Belgrade and Pristina but Donald Trump's envoy for this sensitive territorial and political issue, Richard Grenell, had announced “
surprises
”.
The economic agreement between the two former enemies of a war that left 13,000 dead (1998-99) has been presented as "
historic
" by the American president.
According to some analysts, however, the decisions announced were not new or did not contain major advances.
Doubts over the transfer of the Serbian embassy to Israel emerged with a video, which went viral, showing the Serbian president looking surprised at the time of Donald Trump's announcement.
Aleksandar Vucic then explained that he only reacted to the announced date for the event, July 2021.
While Serbia is a candidate for membership of the European Union, Brussels expressed its "
serious concern
" at the announcement of the possible transfer of the Serbian representation.
The EU is committed to a two-state solution in which Jerusalem is the capital of both Israel and a future Palestinian state.
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