Kosovo and Serbia leaders arrive at EU-backed talks to normalize ties | – #Kosovo #Serbia #leaders #arrive #EUbacked #talks #normalize #ties

OHRID, North Macedonia, March 18 (Reuters) – Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic arrived in North Macedonia on Saturday for a new round of talks with EU officials on implementing a deal to normalize ties between Belgrade and Pristina.

The two leaders, from the tripartite session and of the day before the expected press conference at the end Europe He will hold separate meetings with the head of foreign policy of the Union, Josep Borrell.

“I am optimistic,” Kurti said ahead of the meetings in the lakeside town of Ohrid in North Macedonia.

“I came here with good intentions, good intentions and the belief that what was previously agreed upon… is here execution negotiations for the plan way will be continued with and in this way a final agreement on normalization will be reached.”

Kosovo and Serbia, brokered by the EU in Brussels last month 10 After a dialogue that lasted for nearly 20 years, they reached an agreement to normalize relations supported by the West. However, an addendum to the plan’s implementation, which will be the focus of Saturday’s discussions, still needs to be agreed.

“The eyes of the EU and the Western Balkans are on Ohrid today,” Borrell tweeted.

Serbian constitution Kosovo 20Although it declared its independence in 2008, it considers it an integral part of its territory. Belgrade and Pristina need to restore bilateral relations for both to achieve their strategic goal of joining the EU.

Participating in the Ohrid negotiations USA“I want to warn that we may not have a final agreement,” Gabriel Escobar, a senior diplomat for the Western Balkans, told Pristina-based RTV21.

“We will work on finalizing the addendum, but I expect a lot of progress.”

NATO In 1999, it bombed Serbia in response to the expulsion of Kosovo’s Albanian majority by Serbian forces, after which Belgrade lost control of the southern province.

Report by Fatos Bytyci; Additional report Sabine Siebold and Ivana Sekularac; Edited by Kirsten Donovan

Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

2023-03-18 15:50:28
Source – reuters

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