The president of Serbia and the prime minister of Kosovo will meet on Saturday in North Macedonia in negotiations led by the EU.
In the Serbian capital, Belgrade, thousands of people took to the streets on Friday night to protest against the EU’s plan to normalize relations with Kosovo.
According to the estimate of the AFP photographer who was there, about 4,000 people gathered on Friday in front of the Saint Sava Cathedral in the center of Belgrade, from where the crowd marched to the presidential palace.
The former Serbian province of Kosovo declared independence in 2008, but Serbia has not recognized this.
President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić and the Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti will meet the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs in North Macedonia on Saturday by Josep Borrell in the negotiations.
The discussions aim to find solutions for how the 11-point agreement proposed by the EU would be implemented.
“Deception, not a contract”
In Belgrade, the banners carried by the demonstrators had slogans of Serbian nationalists opposing the independence of Kosovo, such as “No to surrender!”.
– This plan, presented to us as a compromise, leads directly to the establishment of Greater Albania, said the ultra-nationalist leader who addressed the crowd Milica Đurđević.
The majority of the inhabitants of Kosovo are ethnic Albanians, and the region is located on the Albanian border. At the demonstration, speakers demanded Vucic reject the proposed agreement.
– This ultimatum, it’s not an agreement, it’s a fraud, Đurđević said.
According to the EU, the creation of an agreement between Serbia and Kosovo would be an important step towards the EU membership desired by both parties.
Source: AFP