Belgrade, Pristina to Start New Phase of Dialogue After Meeting With Mogherini

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo President Hashim Thaci agreed to start working on a new phase of reconciliation talks between Belgrade and Pristina during an informal meeting with EU Vice-President and High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini, the European Union’s diplomatic service said Monday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The leaders stressed the importance of implementing the agreements without delay. Mogherini confirmed the European Union’s commitment to the European perspective of the Western Balkans, according to the document.

“They agreed to work on starting a new phase of the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina for normalization of relations and reconciliation, and they decided that the respective teams will start working on preparations,” the EU External Action service said in a statement.

On Sunday, Serbian President Vucic told Sputnik that he is ready to personally hold direct talks with Kosovo's Albanians, including the leader of the self-proclaimed republic.

Kosovo unilaterally proclaimed independence in 2008 and is recognized by over 100 UN member states. Serbia, as well as Russia, China, Israel, Iran, Spain, Greece and some other countries do not recognize Kosovo’s independence.

In 2011, the European Union persuaded Serbia to begin cooperation with Kosovo, which lead to signing of the Brussels Agreement on normalizing relations between Serbia and Kosovo in 2013, and a subsequent proposal for forming the Community of Serb Municipalities, a self-governing association of the Serb-dominated regions of Kosovo. The previous meeting within the dialogue was held in Brussels in early February.