Serbia, Kosovo Leaders ‘Make No Progress’ at Brussels Meeting

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told media that the meeting on Thursday in the Belgian capital between Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti did not yield any progress towards resolving current tensions.

Borell said after a series of meetings, which lasted over five hours, that "we did not get to an agreement today but it is not an end to the story".

The meetings took place after tensions escalated two weeks ago when Kosovo Serbs protested against a Kosovo government decision to impose new entry and exit procedures for people with Serbian documents and the re-registration of cars with Serbian car plates.

Kosovo police on July 31 closed the country's border crossings after local Serbs set up barricades. Under US advice, Pristina then decided to postpone the changes until September 1, causing the protests to subside.

Borrell expressed hope that a solution could be reached. "Both leaders agreed that the process needs to continue and the discussion will resume in the coming days," he said.

"There is still time until the 1st of September, I don't give up," he added.

Vucic and Kurti last met at an informal dinner with the EU Special Representative for Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, on May 4 in Berlin.

The two leaders met twice during the summer of 2021 but neither the first nor second meeting produced any apparent progress.

On June 21, so-called "technical level" delegations from both countries agreed to a "road map" to further implement energy agreements made in 2013 and 2015.

However, after the recent protests, both Vucic and Kurti hardened their rhetoric.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, but Serbia does not recognise its...

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