Volodymyr Zelensky came to Belgrade officially for the first time, and of all the subjects that could have defined the visit, the loudest was the one Kyiv delivered without changing a word: Ukraine still does not recognise Kosovo.

„Our position on the declaration of Kosovo's independence remains unchanged”, Zelensky said during the visit, adding that Ukraine values countries that respect its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The sentence is short, but the entire logic of the visit sits inside it. Kyiv is not asking Belgrade to pick a side in the war; Belgrade is not asking Kyiv to change its position on Kosovo. Both lean on the same principle - the inviolability of borders - and that is exactly why they could sit at the same table without either having to lose face.

The meeting was held at the Palace of Serbia, with a formal dinner and a signed memorandum on cooperation in animal health and food safety. Bilateral relations, economic cooperation, Ukraine's European path and the war with Russia were all discussed.

Croatian media read the scene differently

The reactions from Zagreb were what most marked the Serbian media space. A Croatian portal wrote that Vučić is running an independent policy in Serbia's interest and that Serbia is taking on the role of the region's strongest economy, with prospects of soon having a larger GDP than Croatia - despite Croatia's EU membership.

Whether that assessment holds up in the figures is another question entirely. But the very fact that it is being written from Zagreb says something about the nervousness - economic competition in the region is no longer conducted along the line of „we are in the EU, you are not”.

From Pristina the reactions were predictably sharp. A country that has spent years building international recognition can hardly stay calm when a president at the centre of world attention publicly confirms he will not recognise it.

What is worth remembering from the whole visit is this: at a moment when everyone is talking about principles, the principles are once again applied selectively - only this time the selectivity works in Belgrade's favour. How long that lasts is a question whose answer is written neither in Belgrade nor in Kyiv.