The European Union and the United States have urged Kosovo and Serbia to resume dialogue on normalising relations before further violence occurs. EU envoy Miroslav Lajcak and U.S. Special Representative Gabriel Escobar met with Prime Minister Albin Kurti in Pristina, and later traveled to Serbia for a meeting with President Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade. The visit was the first since a September 24 gun battle between Serb gunmen and Kosovo police. Both Kosovo and Serbia want to join the EU, which has told them to sort out their differences.
Western powers want Kosovo and Serbia to implement a 10-point plan put forward by the EU in February to end months of political crises. Kosovo is pressuring Kosovo to allow for the creation of an Association of the Serb-Majority Municipalities to coordinate work on education, healthcare, land planning, and economic development in communities of northern Kosovo mostly populated by ethnic Serbs.
Lajcak urged Kosovo’s government to move on the establishment of the association of Serb-majority municipalities in Kosovo without further delay. The EU suspended funding some projects in Kosovo and halted visits by its top diplomats in July over the issue. Serbia has denied involvement in the attack, saying it was organised by ethnic Serbs in Kosovo. Vucic said he believed „we will find a way out of the crisis in the coming period” and expected „important meetings” in Brussels in the days ahead.
CENTRAL EASTERN EUROPE NEWS
US and EU Ask Kosovo and Serbia to Return to Negotiations
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