Macron, Merkel Try To Resurrect Serbia-Kosovo Talks At Balkan Summit

European leaders will try to bring bitter foes Serbia and Kosovo back to the negotiating table at a regional summit in Berlin on Monday, hoping to reboot a dialogue over one of the Balkans' thorniest disputes

Berlin, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 29th Apr, 2019 ) :European leaders will try to bring bitter foes Serbia and Kosovo back to the negotiating table at a regional summit in Berlin on Monday, hoping to reboot a dialogue over one of the Balkans' thorniest disputes.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron are hosting the neighbours, whose relationship has taken a turn for the worse in recent months, alongside other Western Balkans leaders and those of EU members Croatia and Slovenia.

The Berlin gathering will centre on the "stability of the region, with a particular focus on finding a way to relaunch the dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo," the French presidency said in a briefing ahead of the summit.

The Macron-Merkel initiative comes after EU-led talks between Serbia and Kosovo ground to a halt last year.

The nub of the dispute is Belgrade's denial of the independence of Kosovo, a former province of deep historical and cultural significance to Serbians that broke away in a bloody 1998-1999 war.

The Brussels-led dialogue collapsed several months after talk of possible border changes between the neighbours triggered a stinging backlash last summer.

Critics warned that redrawing the map would be a risky business in the fragile Balkans, a region still recovering from its 1990s wars.

- 'Risks for the region' - Then came a series of diplomatic clashes between Pristina and Belgrade that deepened their hostility, in particular Kosovo's decision in November to levy a 100-percent tariff on Serbian goods.

A stalemate ensued. Kosovo's Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj says he will keep the tax until Belgrade shows openness to recognising independence, while Serbia says it will not talk until the tariff is removed.

The normalisation of ties with Kosovo and harmonisation of its diplomacy with that of the EU are among key criteria Serbia has to meet to join the bloc.