BELGRADE, Serbia

Serbia's president said Thursday that Russia would win the battle against Ukraine, despite growing support from Western countries.

“I’m not sure what Russia can do on the battlefield, and I’m not sure what it can do politically. It is best to make a truce as soon as possible,” Aleksandar Vucic said on Serbian broadcaster Happy TV.

The president plans in October to visit China where he may meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Earlier, Ukrainian politicians announced Ukraine’s readiness to recognize Kosovo’s independence. Vucic said Ukraine is friendly with Serbia, but Serbia will not change its position in identifying Kosovo.

“I don’t believe that (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelenskyy will do that. Whatever decision they make, they would destroy all their principles based on their position,” said Vucic.

Following the April elections in northern Kosovo, the EU said the low turnout among Serbs would not bring long-term political solutions to the municipalities.

Ethnic Serbs have been protesting the election of Albanian mayors since late May.

NATO sent 700 more troops on May 30 to support the Kosovo Force (KFOR), the alliance-led peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, after 30 of its soldiers were injured during the unrest. A contingent of Turkish troops was among the reinforcements.

Kosovo and Serbia must resolve disputes and agree to move forward in becoming an EU member state.

When Pristina declared independence 15 years ago, most UN member states, including the US, UK, France, Germany, and Türkiye, recognized it as a separate country from Serbia. Yet Belgrade still considers Kosovo an autonomous province of Serbia.