EU top diplomat Josep Borrell said that the dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo is not going to be easy. Borrell’s statement came on Tuesday, shortly before Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti and the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić began their EU-mediated meeting.
“But this process and this sincere engagement by both sides is necessary for the benefit of people of Kosovo and Serbia,” Borrell acknowledged in a press conference on Tuesday morning.
He noted that the outcome of the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia is necessary to their path towards a European future for both parties, which according to him has already brought important results for their citizens.
“There is a new momentum and we have to use it. There is a new momentum in Europe about the discussions on the Western Balkans and it is important for the whole region to seize this opportunity,” Borrell said.
He added that the relationship between both countries is very important for the long-term stability of the whole region, and for its economic progress.
“Without an agreement between Kosovo and Serbia, [long term stability] will be jeopardized,” Borrell remarked.
Borrell pointed out that he is glad the meeting is taking place at the same moment that the European Union will be meeting with the President of the United States of America Joe Biden.
Earlier this month, Kurti said that this first Brussels meeting with Vučić will focus on how the dialogue will proceed in the future.
“We need to agree on the process forward, because we can not continue [the dialogue] the way previous governments have carried them out in the past,” Kurti has stated.
Meanwhile, the EU expects that the dialogue shall be a continuation of previous negotiations, not the beginning of something entirely new.
According to the EU, all issues discussed earlier in the dialogue will be on the agenda of future meetings and are of key importance for reaching a comprehensive agreement to normalize relations between the two countries at the end of the dialogue.
