The Serbian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that another African country has revoked its decision to recognize Kosovo as an independent state, bringing the number of those states to 18.

A press release quoted Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic as saying that Sierra Leone had revoked its decision to recognize Kosovo which, according to him, means that Pristina no longer has the backing of the majority in the United Nations.  

Belgrade’s campaign to convince the countries that have recognized Kosovo to revoke their decision is a point of contention between Belgrade and Pristina which wants the Serbian government to stop the campaign. Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj’s government imposed 100 percent tariffs on Serbian goods in response to the campaign. Haradinaj’s successor Albin Kurti has also called Belgrade to end its diplomatic efforts against recognition of Kosovo.  

Speaking during a visit to Sierra Leone, Dacic said that 92 of the 193 UN member states have recognized Kosovo, 96 countries do not recognize it as independent and five countries have what he called “fluid stands”. “I am especially pleased to show a note from the Foreign Ministry which says that Sierra Leone is withdrawing its recognitgion of Kosovo as an independent state and will respect the results of the (Belgrade-Pristina) dialogue,” he is quoted as saying.  

The Foreign Minister said that Sierra Leone’s decision to withdraw recognition of Kosovo is especially important for Belgrade because it was one of the first countries to do so in 2008. He added that the country’s president (Julius Maada Bio) instructed the Foreign Ministry to revoke the decision on Kosovo.