"Recognition of Kosovo condition for Greece" - daily

"Recognition of Kosovo condition for Greece" - daily

Greece is one of five EU countries that do not recognize the unilateral declaration of independence made by ethnic Albanians in 2008.

Dacic, Serbia's foreign minister, and Tsipras met last week in Egypt for the opening of a new section of the Suez Canal, when Dacic said Tsipras told him he would "come to Belgrade in the fall."

But Blic thinks "the increasingly frequent articles in Greek media" and "announcements by politicians there that Kosovo is a lost battle for Serbia" all have their background - and that Greece's vulnerable financial situation means "it will have to dance to the tune of western financiers."

"It would take a miracle for Greece not to recognize Kosovo in the next few months, a year at the most. A serious undertaking will have to be done by the Serbian diplomacy for Athens to give up on recognizing Kosovo, or at least to prolong it," the paper quoted an unnamed source.

They said that conditions that Athens will have to fulfill to get the sorely needed money are not merely economic, but also political.

Political analyst Dusan Janjic told the daily that "Kosovo's recognition will arrive as early as in the fall," and added:

"Tsipras will play pragmatically. He will recognize Kosovo in order to delay the issue of Macedonia's name. Due to the bad situation he won't be able to conduct his own policy. He will have to make concessions, and in this case it will be recognizing Kosovo."

The same analyst added that such a move "would be useful for establishing ties between Greece and Albania and Albanians in the region."

Another Belgrade-based daily, Danas, writes on Friday that its "well informed sources in Athens" said Tsipras "thinks he should not travel to Belgrade."

The reason, said the sources, is "the dominant position within his Syriza party" that Serbian PM Aleksandar Vucic's policy is "adolescent-like."

However, continued the article, the sources "did not wish to specify what Athens was unhappy with when it comes to Vucic's moves."

Earlier this summer, Greece's foreign minister said that his country would support Kosovo's membership in international bodies and security organizations. The Greek ambassador in Belgrade then stated that Greece does not recognize Kosovo's unilaterally declared independence and that this position would not change.