ISLAMABAD/OHRID: Kosovo and Serbia have tentatively agreed on the implementation of a European Union-sponsored plan to normalise their relations, according to the bloc’s top envoy, though leaders of the two nations said there were still disagreements.
The deal on Saturday follows 12-hour talks between Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and the EU officials on implementing the normalisation plan, which had been agreed by both sides in Brussels last month.
The two leaders separately met the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell before a three-way meeting in the North Macedonian town of Ohrid.
Borrell tweeted after the meeting: “We have a deal”,
He said the two countries have agreed on the Implementation Annex of the Agreement on the path to normalise ties.
We have a deal
Kosovo and Serbia have agreed on the Implementation Annex of the Agreement on the path to normalisation of relations
The parties have fully committed to honour all articles of the agreement and implement their respective obligations expediently and in good faith. pic.twitter.com/p3CUBdcd8A
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) March 18, 2023
The EU-backed talks between Kosovo and Serbia have been going on for nearly 10 years since the former declared independence in 2008, almost a decade after war ended Serbian rule. However, Serbia still considers Kosovo as a breakaway province and tensions between the Balkan neighbours have prompted fears of a return to conflict.
Both the countries aspire to join the EU one day, and they have been told to first mend their relations. Solving the dispute between the two countries has become more important amid the ongoing war in Ukraine and subsequent fears in the West that Russia could try causing instability in the volatile Balkans, where it holds historic influence.
EU plan
The EU plan, drafted by France and Germany and supported by the United States, calls for Kosovo and Serbia to maintain good neighbourly ties and recognise each other’s official documents and national symbols. But it does not straight away call for mutual recognition between the two countries.
If implemented, it would prevent Serbia from blocking Kosovo’s attempts of becoming a member of United Nations and other international organisations.
