Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti failed to make any progress in resolving the problems between the two sides at their meeting in Brussels, facilitated by the EU.
Kurti and Vucic met in the company of EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, following the tension that arose after the Kosovo government’s decision on the use of Kosovo ID cards and license plates by everyone, including Serbs, in the north of the country.
Speaking to reporters at the end of the meeting, which lasted more than 6 hours, Borrell stated that they could not get a result from the meeting on the process covering the normalization process between Serbia and Kosovo.
“Unfortunately, we couldn’t reach an agreement today. I’m sorry. But this is not the end of the matter. Both leaders agreed that the process should continue. Talks will continue in the coming days,” Borrell said. said.
Reminding that a conflict occurred in Europe years later with the war in Ukraine, Borrell emphasized that no one wants the tension in the north of Kosovo to escalate and said, “The international community does not want a new tension. Both sides will be responsible for the escalation of tensions in the field.” he said.
Emphasizing that both leaders understand that “there is no alternative but dialogue”, Borrell said that although no progress has been made today, there is time until September 1, when the Kosovo government postpones the ID card and license plate decision.
KOSOVO-SERBIA TENSION
The Kosovo government announced at the end of July that everyone living in the country, including Serbs, will be required to have a Kosovo ID card and plate. Serbs in Kosovo reacted to this and closed the border crossings in the north of the country, and tensions increased in the country.
The Kosovo government decided to postpone the implementation, which caused the crisis, until 1 September, after all the barricades placed on the roads leading to the border crossings with Serbia were removed.
After tensions between the parties escalated, Kosovo Prime Minister Kurti said the risk of a new conflict between Kosovo and Serbia is high. Serbian President Vucic also claimed that the Kosovo administration is planning to attack the north of the country where Serbs live.
Following these, NATO’s Force in Kosovo (KFOR) declared that it was ready to intervene in case of destabilization in the region.
Serbia considers Kosovo, which declared its independence unilaterally in 2008, as its territory. (AA)