Ashton on dialogue between Belgrade and Priština

Ashton on dialogue between Belgrade and Priština

BRUSSELS -- The prime ministers of Serbia and Kosovo, not the EU, are behind the Brussels agreement, EU High Representative Catherine Ashton has said.

Ashton told the annual forum of the German Marshall Fund that the Brussels agreement was not her doing, but that of Serbia's Prime Minister Ivica Dačić and Kosovo's Prime Minister Hashim Thaci.

"The key thing to achieving the agreement was that both sides saw that status quo benefited no one," Ashton stated, adding that she had "merely helped them find a solution they could both accept."

Ashton also stressed that "no one had ever asked Serbia to recognize Kosovo or Kosovo to give up its independence."

She explained how the talks started by saying that she had asked Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić to give dialogue a try, "and he agreed."

"Two very nervous prime ministers appeared for the first round of the talks and it was not certain if there would be handshakes, but they did shake hands, although it was not photographed," Ashton noted describing the meeting that took place in her office.

"Everything was done to make sure Dačić and Thaci were not uncomfortable," she added.

Belgrade and Priština initialed an agreement on the normalization of their relations in Brussels on April 19, 2013, as a result of negotiations facilitated by the EU.

Based on that agreement, a number of others were reached later, including the agreements on the police and creation of a community of Serb municipalities in Kosovo.

However, because of obstructions from Priština, the community has not been formed yet, so it will be one of the chief topics once the Brussels talks...