Serbia, Kosovo Leaders’ First Meeting Marred by Disagreement

The long-awaited resumption of dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo took place on Tuesday in Brussels, where Aleksandar Vucic and Albin Kurti had their first official meeting, but their rival interpretations of what happened highlighted the differences between the two leaders.

While the Serbian president claimed that Pristina was not open to any compromise and said that Kurti was unwilling to take responsibility or face reality, Kosovo's prime minister said that the meeting was constructive and that it made him optimistic.

"The Albanian delegation does not want to fulfil agreements [made at earlier meetings], they do not want to talk about the Union of Serbian Municipalities [to represent Serbs' interests in Kosovo], they insistently and instantly demanded when will we recognise an independent Kosovo, and they described the fact that Serbs want to attend liturgies in their churches [in Kosovo] as incidents and provocations," Vucic told reporters in Brussels.

"[Kurti] told me: 'I came to ask you when you will recognize an independent Kosovo.' My answer was 'Never!' Then he blew up," he said.

However, he added that he will not give up on the EU-mediated dialogue, which is aimed at normalising relations between Serbia and Kosovo, said that it was agreed that they will talk again at the highest level before the end of July.

Kurti however offered a different view of the meeting, saying that he gave four proposals to the Serbian delegation and that the first received no response and the other three were rejected.

"From my point of view, this first meeting was constructive. It will be hard, but I am an optimist. We now have an honest approach to the problems," Kurti said.

"The essence of our conflict is the lack of mutual...