Serbia and Kosovo seek to calm nerves after train confrontation

Bloomberg

The leaders of Serbia and Kosovo are heading to Brussels for talks called by the European Union aimed at soothing simmering tensions after Serbia tried to send a train adorned with nationalist symbols across the border.
EU Foreign Policy chief Federica Mogherini called the meeting for Tuesday under the auspices of negotiations to normalize relations between Kosovo and Serbia, which has refused to recognize its former province’s 2008 declaration of independence. Both governments are facing calls at home to end the dialog, which is still seen as treacherous in the two countries a decade and a half after a NATO-led bombing campaign forced Slobodan Milosevic’s forces out of Kosovo to seal its split from the biggest former Yugoslav republic. “Talks won’t be simple at all—not easy—our positions are completely opposite,” Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said at a news conference on Sunday in Belgrade. “They have the assumption that Kosovo is an independent state, while we see it as part of the Republic of Serbia. What matters and that must be concluded by all of us is that there must be no use of arms or combat weapons.”
Tensions threatened to boil over last week when Serbia sent a train painted with slogans declaring “Kosovo is Serbia” to its neighbor. Premier Aleksandar Vucic ordered the train halted, saying he’d heard reports that Kosovar forces had rigged the track with mines and sent a special force unit to attack it, while President Tomislav Nikolic said Serbia was ready to send troops to defend Serbs there.