Josep Borrell made another attempt to bring together the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo for discussions aimed at implementing a plan to normalize their relations
After meeting the Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurtithen the Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić, Josep Borrell said that no progress between Belgrade and Pristina had been made.
This is a new observation of failure in this issue when the two leaders were to meet for the first time in a year.
THE High Commissioner for EU Foreign Policy explained this shortly after during a press briefing.
“The discussions were, as expected, as difficult as they have always been and, in the end, there was no trilateral meeting. Kosovo was not ready for this, Kosovo was not prepared to organize this trilateral meeting. Serbia was ready to do so, but it takes two to tango and it takes two to sit around the table to continue the dialogue. This was not possible today, and unfortunately no progress in implementing the agreement could be made.” did he declare.
An agreement which conditions the accession to the EU of Belgrade and Pristina
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, but Belgrade has refused to recognize it. Kosovo’s Serbs remain largely loyal to Belgrade, particularly in the north, where they are the majority and reject all measures taken by Pristina to consolidate its control over the region.
The EU, which has been trying for several years to resolve this conflict between the two camps, has repeatedly warned that a refusal to compromise would reduce the chances of Serbia and Kosovo to join the European Union.