Zelensky’s Odessa Summit: A Stage for Surrender
Zelensky begged the West for solidarity, then bowed to Putin’s puppet. In Odessa, he didn’t defend sovereignty, he betrayed it. Kosovo excluded, Vucic applauded.
Volodymyr Zelensky knows what occupation feels like. He knows the sound of air raid sirens, the weight of losing cities to a foreign boot, the bitterness of watching allies wring their hands while invaders redraw maps. And yet, in Odessa this June, on his own stage, the President of Ukraine welcomed with open arms a man who has done for Serbia what Vladimir Putin has done for Russia, Aleksandar Vucic. Worse still, Zelensky did so by actively excluding Kosovo, one of Ukraine’s most reliable and morally consistent allies since the first day of Russia’s full-scale invasion. The irony is so sharp it cuts through the Black Sea air like a blade.
Zelensky did not merely ignore Kosovo, he snubbed it. At the personal request of Aleksandar Vucic, the Serbian President and Putin’s Balkan vassal, Kosovo’s representatives were denied entry to a summit that billed itself as a meeting of equals united in defence of territorial integrity. The insult is staggering. It was as if a man with his house on fire had barred the neighbour who called the fire brigade, while inviting the arsonist in for wine and applause. Kosovo, a young republic born of bloodshed, has been unflinching in its support for Ukraine, hosting Ukrainian journalists in exile, helping fight Russia’s disinformation war from its own soil, and standing up against Moscow’s tyranny even as Brussels and Washington blinked. And what was the thanks? Silence. Exclusion. Betrayal.
One cannot excuse this as a diplomatic oversight. Zelensky’s decision was deliberate, executed in cold daylight under Vucic’s instruction. It was theatre, staged in the city whose name evokes tragedy and resistance, and the message was clear: Ukraine, so insistent on defending its borders, is prepared to trample the borders of another. In that moment, Zelensky chose to genuflect to a Kremlin proxy in Belgrade rather than honour an ally in Pristina. His credibility as a defender of international law has been severely, and perhaps irreparably, compromised.
The stench of hypocrisy is unmistakable. Zelensky cannot, on one hand, tour the capitals of Europe pleading for solidarity against Russian imperialism, and on the other, submit to the dictates of the Kremlin’s closest ally in the Balkans. Vucic, let us be clear, is not a neutral figure. He is the man who, just weeks before Odessa, stood proudly in Moscow on 9 May, celebrating Victory Day alongside the architects of Ukraine’s suffering1. While Europe shunned the parade of aggression, Vucic marched to the beat of Russia’s war drums. And when he arrived in Ukraine, he brought with him not peace but Putin’s shadow. That Zelensky allowed Vucic to dominate the narrative on Ukrainian soil, to gloat publicly about Kosovo’s absence, is not only a political failure, it is a moral one.
In Odessa, Vucic Speaks Putin Echoes
And where was Albania?
Where was Edi Rama2, the supposed statesman of the Balkans, the man who never misses a microphone when it comes to self-congratulatory performances in Brussels or New York? Rama, who likes to fashion himself as the bridge between East and West, failed to utter a single word in defence of Kosovo’s exclusion. He did not advocate. He did not intercede. He did nothing. In fact, it is entirely consistent with his approach. Since taking power, Rama has orchestrated the slow abandonment of Kosovo, appeasing Belgrade, undermining Pristina3, and dressing it all up as regional cooperation. From the ill-fated Open Balkan project to his backdoor dealings on the Association of Serb-majority Municipalities, Rama has repeatedly placed Serbia’s interests above Kosovo’s survival4.
If Zelensky betrayed Kosovo in a single stroke, Rama has done so by a thousand cuts. His foreign policy is a masterclass in capitulation disguised as diplomacy. When Kosovo needed allies after the Banjska terrorist attack in 20235, perpetrated by Serbian-backed paramilitaries, Rama called not for accountability, but for peace talks. When Kosovo sought international recognition, Rama circumvented its government, pitching proposals to Europe without Pristina’s knowledge6.
His performance in Odessa?
An encore of cowardice. He could have insisted on Kosovo’s inclusion. He could have walked out. He chose to sit quietly in the front row, nodding along to Vucic’s revisionist narrative, complicit through silence.
The damage done in Odessa is not symbolic. It is strategic. Vucic has succeeded in recasting the regional story, dragging Kosovo back into the grey zone of ambiguity. With the tacit blessing of Ukraine, and the diplomatic dereliction of Albania, Serbia’s campaign to delegitimise Kosovo gains traction. And that campaign is not theoretical, it is backed by weapons, by Wagner recruiters on Serbian soil, by Russian intelligence operatives in Nis, by Chinese and Iranian arms deals. Serbia is not a troubled neighbour. It is a metastasising threat.
Unmasking Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic
Kosovo’s exclusion from the Odessa summit is not just a diplomatic affront. It is a calculated step in a wider pattern of normalising Serbia’s aggression and isolating Kosovo diplomatically. That Zelensky lent his hand to that process, on Ukrainian soil, under the banner of territorial integrity, is a moral obscenity. That Edi Rama did nothing to stop it is proof, once again, that he governs not with principle, but with opportunism.
This is not the behaviour of nations that believe in the rules-based international order. It is the behaviour of men who have decided, consciously or cynically, that some sovereignties matter more than others. Zelensky’s actions in Odessa have undermined his moral authority. Rama’s inaction has confirmed the collapse of his credibility.
And Kosovo, which stood by Ukraine when it mattered most, now stands alone, punished not for what it has done, but for what it dares to be: free.
In the end, history will record who stood firm and who stood silent. Zelensky has cast his lot with Serbia’s strongman. Edi Rama has chosen the path of least resistance. And Kosovo? Kosovo remains the inconvenient reminder that principles are only real when they apply to everyone.
And so, in the battered port city of Odessa, where Volodymyr Zelensky sought to stage a performance of unity against Russian aggression, Aleksandar Vucic stood, smiled, and defiled the stage. With Kosovo barred at his request, Putin’s most loyal Balkan surrogate delivered the final insult: he refused to sign7 the summit’s declaration condemning Russia’s war8. Not even in Zelensky’s own house, on Ukrainian soil soaked in the blood of his people, of the children buried beneath rubble in Mariupol, the women raped in Bucha, the men disappeared in Kherson, could he command the basic decency of symbolic solidarity. Vucic, the grinning emissary of Moscow, quite literally shat on the summit’s purpose, and Zelensky let him. Worse, he thanked him. In that moment, Zelensky didn’t just betray Kosovo, he betrayed Ukraine. He humiliated himself, traded principle for a photo op, and welcomed Putin’s voice into the chorus of European diplomacy. This wasn’t pragmatism. It was surrender. Not to Serbia, but to the ghost of Russia, still burning Ukrainian cities while Zelensky clasped the hand of its envoy.
The Hypocrisy of Ukraine's Foreign Minister in Belgrade
In an era of escalating geopolitical tensions, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, Dimitry Kuleba, has embarked on a diplomatic mission to Belgrade, Serbia, and his recent statements have raised more than a few eyebrows. Through a series of tweets, Kuleba has chronicled his meetings with Serbian officials, lauding their support and discussing the future of bilateral cooperation. But the reality behind this diplomatic charade is starkly different and deeply concerning.
Vucic Attends Moscow Victory Parade Amid Barrage of EU Criticism — Balkan Insight.
Rama’s Fourth Term, Kosovo’s Ticking Clock
Albania’s foreign policy on Kosovo, under Edi Rama, increasingly echoes Vucic’s agenda, eroding sovereignty, legitimising Serbian narratives, and sidelining Pristina in critical regional decisions. — The GPC.
Rama’s Foreign Policy: Surrender by Design
Albania no longer shields Kosovo, it shadows Serbia. Zhulali warns: Rama's foreign policy isn't strategy; it's surrender masked as diplomacy. The region can't afford his silence. — The GPC.
Why Albania’s Kosovo Policy Is a Crisis
As Serbia rattles sabres, Albania’s silence screams. Under Rama, Tirana has drifted from Kosovo’s ally to Serbia’s enabler. The betrayal is calculated, and complete. — The GPC.
One Year After Banjska: The West’s Role in Serbia’s Balkan Escalation
One year after the Banjska attacks, Serbia's aggression and Western appeasement continue to destabilise Kosovo, raising questions about regional security and international accountability. — The GPC.
Serbia's president refuses to sign Ukraine-Southeast Europe Summit declaration— RBC Ukraine.
Декларація четвертого саміту Україна – Південно-Східна Європа — President Zelensky’s Page.