The Kosovo government on Tuesday said that it was not possible for Suriname to rescind its recognition, despite Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic’s insistence that the small South American state has just done so.

It also questioned whether a letter purportedly from Suriname’s permanent mission to the United Nations confirming the reversal, which was shown off by Dacic in Belgrade earlier on Tuesday, was valid because it referred to Serbia’s name for its former province, Kosovo and Metohija.

“First, in the international law there is no concept of withdrawing a recognition, there is the freezing of diplomatic relations or the withdrawal of diplomatic staff; secondly, there is no state called ‘Kosovo and Metohija’ as in the letter presented in Belgrade, but in international relations exists a sovereign and independent country called the Republic of Kosovo,” the Kosovo government said in a statement.

Dacic told a press conference on Tuesday that the government of Suriname made its decision on October 27, and a diplomatic note was sent to Kosovo’s Foreign Ministry on October 30.

“Such a decision shows that one must be persistent, talk to everyone,” Dacic said.

He also vowed to continue challenging the recognition of Kosovo.

“This also shows that it’s not all over,” he added.

However, Kosovo’s Foreign Ministry said that it has not so far has received any official document about the alleged withdrawal of recognition by Suriname.

“Therefore, under these circumstances, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kosovo refers only to the good spirit of friendly relations between the Republic of Kosovo and the Republic of Suriname and the Verbal Note on Official Recognition of this State, dated 8 July 2016, through which the Government of Suriname recognized the Republic of Kosovo as an independent and sovereign state,” the foreign ministry said.

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