Association of Serb-Majority Municipalities

Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti on Tuesday refused to accept a draft statute for the establishment of an Association of Serb-Majority Municipalities to represent Serbs' interests in Kosovo, claiming it would establish an entity like Bosnia and Herzegovina's Serb-dominated Republika Srpska, whose leaders have repeatedly challenged the legitimacy of their state.

Western powers are pressing an unwilling Prime Minister of Kosovo to finally deliver on the establishment of an Association of Serb-Majority Municipalities.

The US embassy in Pristina on Tuesday held a meeting of political and civil society representatives of Kosovo Albanians and Serbs to discuss the Association of Serb-Majority Municipalities, a proposed body to represent minority Serb interests in Kosovo which has become a sticking point in the ongoing dialogue to normalise relations between Belgrade and Pristina.

Last week, Kosovo police were attacked several times close to the border with Serbia, where a road used for smuggling contraband goods was recently closed.

Belgrade officials have rejected Pristina's claims that the attacks came from Serbian territory, while the European Union has warned against "unnecessary speculation that may add to further tensions".

Since the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue was resumed in the wake of Kurti taking office as Kosovo's premier earlier this year, there have been no improvements in relations and been little or no progress in implementing agreements already made over the past decade of negotiations.

Germany's ambassador in Belgrade, Axel Dittmann, has denied that Berlin wants EU foreign police chief Federica Mogherini replaced as the organiser of EU-led negotiations between Serbia and Kosovo on normalisation of relations.

In an email sent to the European External Actions Service on May 25, Avni Arifi, who has led Kosovo's delegation in EU-led talks with Serbia since January, said Pristina will not take any further part in normalisation talks until Serbia implements six pending agreements in full.