Senior officials from Serbia and Kosovo gathered in Brussels for international talks on fulfilling past commitments aimed at normalising relations between the Balkan neighbours.
Such meetings have recently collapsed despite strong public pressure from outside diplomats to address security threats in Southeastern Europe.
Belgrade has never recognised the independence proclaimed by Pristina in 2008, with violence still raging between Kosovo authorities and tens of thousands of ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo. Tensions escalated further last week when Kosovo authorities announced terrorism charges against 45 people for an operation at a monastery in northern Kosovo last year.
Kosovo, whose majority population is ethnic Albanian, faces growing criticism from international partners, including the United States and the European Union. However, Kosovo officials counter that the Serbian side is trying to implement measures half-heartedly, including verbal commitments made at Ohrid early last year.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić last week announced his intention to “significantly and dramatically” increase support for Serbs in Kosovo. He also called on Serbs who quit their jobs in the police and other Kosovo institutions in protest nearly two years ago to return to work.
Pristina defended recent moves such as the ban on the dinar and the shutdown of Serb banks and post offices in recent months in Serb-majority neighbourhoods.
