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Bloomberg
Serbia and Kosovo may resume European Union-mediated talks on mending ties later this month following weekend tensions over identification cards and car plates. The meeting in Brussels could take place on Aug. 18, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic told state broadcaster RTS late Tuesday. Kosovo government spokesman Perparim Kryeziu said the meeting is expected in the third week of August, Pristina-based Koha newspaper reported.
The flareup along the Kosovo-Serbia border on Sunday pushed the Balkan neighbors and former wartime foes just “a step away from catastrophe†Vucic said. He blamed Kosovo’s government for taking unilateral action that outraged local Serbs who want to keep their Serbia-issued documents. The minority put up road blockades as Kosovo police deployed in the northern border area.
Kosovo agreed to postpone by 30 days the requirement under which all residents, including ethnic Serbs, would have to abide by regulations on vehicle registration and personal documents decreed by the government.
The meeting in Brussels, part of more than a decade of inconclusive talks between Belgrade and Pristina, may resume â€though I don’t expect an agreement,†Vucic said. Serbia has refused to acknowledge Kosovo’s sovereignty since it declared independence in 2008, almost decade after the two sides fought a war along ethnic lines.
Both Kosovo and Serbia aspire to join the European Union but must normalize relations to qualify for membership. More than 100,000 Serbs still live in Kosovo, which has a predominantly ethnic Albanian population of 1.8 million.