Encouraged by France, Germany Balkans reconciliation talks resume

PARIS, July 10 (KUNA) -- The leaders of Serbia and Kosovo agreed Friday on a process to resume reconciliation talks and will meet in Brussels mid-July to further this goal, France and Germany announced.
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel earlier hosted a videoconference between Serb President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Abdullah Hoti to explore ways to get a resumption of dialogue between the two parties, dialogue that was broken off in November 2018.
European High Representative for Security and Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell along with other senior EU officials participated in the videoconference, the Elysee Palace said in a joint statement.
Macron and Merkel encouraged the Serbian and Kosovar leader "to achieve substantial progress in the negotiations in the coming months." The initial reconciliatory talks will take place in the coming days by videoconference and culminate in a face-to-face meeting under EU auspices on July 16.
"The European Union will continue to facilitate their dialogue, with the aim of normalising relations between Serbia and Kosovo by means of a global, final and legally-binding agreement," according to the statement.
Already, the two belligerent parties, which fought a bloody war until Kosovar independence in 2008, have "agreed to deepen their cooperation in the on-going work in the many areas" which is seen as important confidence-building measures between the two sides.
"The normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia is essential for the security and stability of the region and is of great importance in view of the accession of the two countries to the EU," the Franco-German statement stressed, noting a willingness by Paris and Berlin to remain involved in this process and work at the highest level for its success. (end) jk.mt