Former Ambassador to U.S.: Serbia Must Accept U.N. Membership for Kosovo

Milan St. Protic (PHOTOBETA/MEDIJA CENTAR BEOGRAD)

According to historian, author and former Serbian ambassador to the U.S. Milan St. Protic, the very survival of Serbia and the Serbian people is contingent upon Kosovo being accepted into the U.N. and Serbia concurrently being granted full EU membership.

In an Oct. 26 interview for the Demostat Research and Publishing Center, Protic explained that the future of the Serbian people and state requires the “political practicality” of negotiating such a quid pro quo. “I’d accept and try to secure a seat in the U.N. for Kosovo in a heartbeat in exchange for concurrently granted full EU membership for Serbia,” he said.

Any difference between Euro-integrations and Euro-Atlantic integrations is “contrived,” Protic stated, adding that the Serbian public, perhaps, needs only more time to realize that joining NATO will provide more advantages than disadvantages.

With regards to Serbia’s relations with the U.S. – where he once served as ambassador – Protic said that Serbia needs to find a balance because “being stubborn towards such a large country can only lead to bad things.”