EU Urges Serbian and Kosovo Presidents to Meet

The EU said it was planning a new joint meeting between Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Hashim Thaci of Kosovo, after Vucic cancelled his announced meeting with Thaci on Friday in Brussels, leaving his upcoming visit to Kosovo in doubt.

"Difficulties remain," the EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said, after holding separate meetings with Vucic and Thaci on Friday morning.

She added that she trusted the full commitment of both presidents to continue the EU-led dialogue process, and "reach in the coming months a legally binding agreement on comprehensive normalisation of relations, in line with international law".

Mogherini announced that she will convene the next high-level session of the dialogue before the Ministerial week of the UN General Assembly in the last week of September, "to bring the two sides together to advance the work on the content of the agreement".

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008. Serbia has vowed never to recognise it. However, international pressure is growing on both countries to solve the decade-long dispute, if they are to assure themselves a future as part of the EU.

The Serbian President surprised the public after he cancelled the planned meeting with Thaci, after holding a bilateral meeting with Mogherini.

Although Vucic made no statement, the Head of Serbia's Office for Kosovo, Marko Djuric, said Vucic had informed Mogherini about "all the lies of Pristina in the past days" and added that this "is why he will not meet with the Kosovo delegation today".

After media reported that Vucic had cancelled the meeting, Thaci said they had both agreed the trilateral meeting would not take place.

"There has been an agreement between me and...