The Council of Europe seems to be the first international organisation that not only recognises Kosovo but also makes it a full-fledged member, ignoring protests and threats from Serbia.

Until recently, Kyiv categorically ruled out the possibility of recognising Kosovo's independence because it feared drawing an analogy with the "independence" of Crimea.

Now Ukraine's "no" vote has changed to "abstain."

Another European country that officially recognises Kosovo, along with most European countries, has changed its position and moved to open support of the "Russian-Serbian" group.

Read about why this diplomatic game is of exceptional importance and why events in Kosovo and Ukraine cannot be paralleled in the article by EuroPravda editor Sergiy Sydorenko Step of Ukraine towards recognition of Kosovo. Details and consequences of sensation in Council of Europe.

In 2008, Kosovo (where NATO forces were stationed and there was no threat of a new Serbian attack) unilaterally declared independence.

Serbia initiated a challenge to this step in the International Court of Justice, but it sided with the Kosovars and declared that Kosovo, as an exception to other norms of international law, has the right to independence because, due to the memory of international crimes on an ethnic basis, ethnic cleansing, and persecution, it cannot exist under the rule of Belgrade.

It was underlined that it is not a precedent for other states, and the basic argument in favour of the unprecedented "right to self-determination" was precisely the systematic practice of ethnic crimes, purges, etc., committed by the authorities and representatives of Serbia against Kosovar Albanians, residents of their own region. This argumentation shows that the story of Kosovo, disguised as its "separation," cannot be linked to the occupation of Crimea.

After all, ethnic cleansing and systemic crimes of the "Kyiv regime" against Russians exist only in the sick fantasies of Russian propaganda.

This week, it unexpectedly became clear that the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CoE), i.e., the main governing body of this organisation, has begun considering the application for the Republic of Kosovo to join the CoE.

33 of the 46 member states of the Council of Europe voted for Kosovo's admission to the Council of Europe, which made it possible to make a decision by a small margin.

So, the Council of Europe looks set to become the first major "political" international organisation with Kosovo as a member. The process of Kosovo's accession to the Council of Europe has not yet been completed.

If this happens, it will really be a watershed in the issue of recognition of Kosovo's independence.

Serbia's nervous reaction is quite understandable.

The expulsion of Russia from the Council of Europe in March 2022, as well as the transformation of the Russian Federation into a toxic pariah, made possible the future accession of Kosovo to the Council of Europe.

But the victory procession of Kosovo can stop there.

Ukraine did not support Kosovo's accession to the Council of Europe but abstained from voting. In Serbia, it was perceived as a position of "we are not for, but not against." Belgrade took such a vote of Ukraine as a slap in the face and threatened it with consequences.

One country reversed course and joined Serbia's support group, surprising few. It is about Hungary.

What should Ukraine do next? While the war with the Russian Federation continues, it is hardly advisable to recognise Kosovo. The way Kyiv acted now, when it abstained from voting on this fundamental issue, seems to be the right approach.

After the victory of Ukraine, and especially after its admission to NATO and receiving guarantees of collective defence, it will make sense to return to this issue. Remembering also whose side Belgrade was on during the Russian aggression against Ukraine and what was the position of the Kosovo authorities.