Serbia, Kosovo did not reach agreement during Brussels talks: Borrell
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The European Union's top diplomat says the talks between Serbia and Kosovo in Brussels were not fruitful.
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NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, right, speaks with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic prior to a meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2022 (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys)
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti were unable to come to a consensus during their meeting in Brussels, Belgium, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Thursday. However, they did agree to continue the dialogue.
After a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday, the Serbian President said: "When it comes to our bilateral relations once again, I underlined to Secretary General Stoltenberg that Serbia is a militarily neutral country and that we will remain militarily neutral," adding that Serbia "does not need any foreign military bases."
Furthermore, Vucic said that conducting a military operation in Kosovo that would cross the administrative line had been ruled out by Serbia.
"Unhappily we did not yet reach an agreement today … but in the end, both leaders agreed that the process needs to continue and the discussion will resume in the coming days," Borrell told a press conference.
The EU diplomat added that both Vucic and Kurti understood that the dialogue had no alternatives.
Earlier on August 12, Vucic stated that Serbia cannot pledge to preserve the current stance on the subject of sanctions against Russia.
Before the parliamentary elections on April 3, several Serbian lawmakers opposed imposing sanctions on Russia, but they later changed their minds, according to Vucic.
Serbians early March rallied in Belgrade in support of Russia and Serbia has recently vocalized its refusal to join NATO, citing the 1999 killing of Yugoslavian children.
The European External Action Service (EEAS) said on Sunday that the EU was disturbed by the provocative statements made by senior officials of Serbia and Kosovo, wary that they may stoke more tension in the region.
"Senior politicians of the two Parties will be held responsible for any escalation that leads to any increased tensions and, potentially violence in the region," the statement read.
The Kosovo authorities had announced that starting August 1, Serbian-issued documents would be invalid and their owners would receive temporary certificates when entering Kosovo.
At the same time, Kosovo was going to start mandatory re-registration of vehicles with Serbian license plates, which would affect Serbians in the northern part of Kosovo and several other towns. This caused tensions at the border, prompting Kosovo to postpone the entry restrictions until September 1.
