Signing ceremony in the Oval Office (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Serbian parliament Speaker Ivica Dacic said on Feb. 5 that Israel had agreed to recognize Kosovo as independent believing that opening the embassy of a "Muslim country" in Jerusalem would have a positive impact.
"Clearly it was done with a helping hand from the U.S. because Israel was in the position to assess what recognizing Kosovo would get. At this point in time, what was important to them was that a 'Muslim country' (Kosovo) accept Jerusalem as the capital," Dacic told Prva TV.
The former foreign minister explained that opening an embassy in Jerusalem, which is in opposition to a U.N. resolution and decisions of the Security Council because of the dispute with Palestine, required Israel recognizing Kosovo first.
The mutual recognition of Kosovo and Israel was arranged in a deal on economic normalization between Belgrade and Pristina, made in Washington and signed last year, when Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic undertook that Serbia would move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
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