“We believe that Kosovo is a part of Serbia and that status is defined in the according UN Security Council’s Resolution 1244. This resolution clearly stipulates that Serbia has sovereignty over Kosovo… Once again I would like to emphasize that in our deepest beliefs sports should be separate from politics,” Lukashevich said during a briefing in Moscow.
On Tuesday, the International Olympic Committee voted unanimously in Monaco to grant Kosovo the right to create its own official Olympic teams. According to the IOC’s statement, the national Olympic Committee of Kosovo “met the requirements for recognition as outlined in the Olympic Charter.” All 96 members, including Russia, unanimously supported the decision. However, the President of the Serbian Olympic Committee did not take part in the vote.
Commenting on the situation, United World Wrestling President Nenad Lalovic said that “If Serbia had opposed the decision, it would have been a utopia and would not help the Serbian sport… Now it only remains for Serbia to cooperate with the Olympic Committee of Kosovo, because sport is not politics,” B92 quotes.
The IOC’s move creates an opportunity for South Ossetia’s Olympic membership, as the republic pledged to use Kosovo’s precedent and lodge a similar application. South Ossetia was recognized as an independent state by Russia in 2008 after Georgia had attacked the autonomous region. Four UN members have so far recognized the republic, and its political status is often compared to that of Kosovo.
