Leader of the opposition Party of Freedom and Justice (SSP) Dragan Djilas said that whether or not the topic of Kosovo’s membership in the United Nations will ever be discussed in this international organization’s Security Council does not depend on Serbia, but solely on Russia’s and China’s interests.

“And then, at the (UN) General Assembly vote, it depends on whether half of the countries are willing to accept Kosovo,” Djilas told Radio TV Vojvodina (RTV).

Djilas said his and his party’s position is that Kosovo and Metohija (the official name for what the Serbian authorities consider to be the country’s southern province) is an integral part of Serbia, that Serbia must never recognize Kosovo’s independence or vote in favor of its membership in the UN.

Commenting on the fact that the European Union (EU) Agreement on the path to normalization between Kosovo and Serbia stipulates that Serbia will not object to Kosovo’s membership in any international organization, including the UN, Djilas said this agreement is bad for Serbia and that the SSP refused to back it precisely because of such provisions.

He said he does not have a problem with recognizing documents issued by the Pristina authorities, because Serbia already recognizes Kosovo ID cards and vehicle registration certificates.

“I don’t see that it makes a big difference whether it’s a passport or an identity card, the whole of Europe already travels without passports. We have to be realistic when it comes to Kosovo, to know what the situation is and what is happening there, just as we have to protect our national interest, and that is the recognition of Kosovo and its membership in the UN,” said Djilas.

Regardless of the fact that this agreement has become part of Chapter 35 in the EU accession negotiations, if this matter is ever raised before the UN, Serbia has the right to vote against it.

He said that rejecting the “bad” plan, which the EU and US consider accepted, would be very bad for Serbia and would lead to isolation, serious economic consequences and further exodus of the population.

Asked whether Serbia can join the EU without previously recognizing Kosovo’s independence, Djilas said there is no such request and that there are five EU countries that have not recognized independent Kosovo.

“One of them is Spain, which, I believe, will never recognize Kosovo for its own reasons and arguments,” said Djilas, adding that Chapter 35 clearly reads that the Serbia-Kosovo agreement is its integral part, and there is absolutely no mention of Serbia’s obligation to recognize Kosovo’s independence in it. “This does not exist as a condition,” said the SSP leader.

He said he does not expect the five EU countries, or any country in the world to recognize Kosovo on the basis of this agreement because it is “bad”.

“It is bad as a result of the fact that (Serbian President) Aleksandar Vucic decided to negotiate and manage it himself. This agreement is a defeat of this policy, a defeat of the fact that someone thought he could decide everything on his own, a defeat of 10 years of lies we have been living in, lies saying we are defeating Kosovo at every step,” said Djilas.