Borrell, Blinken Discuss Serbia-Kosovo Normalization, Ethiopia - EEAS

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th March, 2023) EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed talks between Serbia and Kosovo and the situation in Ethiopia as well as other global and regional issues during a phone conversation on Friday, the European External Action Service (EEAS) said.

"Their discussion focused on the upcoming High-Level meeting of the EU-facilitated dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina on Saturday in Ohrid, the situation in Ethiopia and preparations for the EU-US Energy Council next month," the statement read.

During the phone call, Borrell informed Blinken about the latest developments in relations between Serbia and Kosovo, underlining the important role the EU and the US have played in the normalization process between the two sides, as cited by the EEAS.

Ahead of the talks between the Serbian and Kosovar leaders scheduled for Saturady, Borrell and Blinken "agreed that this was the right time to make significant steps forward in the interest of the EU integration of Kosovo and Serbia," the EEAS said.

On March 18, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti are scheduled to meet in North Macedonia with the participation of Borrell and EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue Miroslav Lajcak.

The leaders will discuss issues pertaining to the political settlement between the two sides, involving the program for the implementation of the European-US reconciliation plan for Kosovo and Serbia.

In late February, Borrell published the full text of the European proposal with clauses on mutual recognition of documents and state symbols and Belgrade's consent not to prevent Pristina from joining international organizations. According to Lajcak, EU and US leaders insist that Kosovar Albanian authorities form the Community of Serb Municipalities with autonomy rights, in accordance with the 2013 Brussels Agreement. According to US Ambassador to Kosovo Jeffrey Hovenier, there is no better plan than the EU's proposal for a Serbia-Kosovo settlement, which Washington fully supports.

However, Vucic has insisted that his country has fulfilled its part of the Brussels Agreement, while Kosovo, the independence of which Belgrade never recognized, only started to develop the charter of the Community, and then suspended the process.