Serbia, Kosovo Officials to Meet in Brussels After Tensions

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti will meet in Brussels on August 18, it was confirmed to BIRN, following the recent escalation of tensions in northern Kosovo.

Perparim Kryeziu, Kurti's spokesperson, told BIRN on Wednesday that an earlier meeting scheduled for July 19 had "failed because Belgrade refused it, requesting its postponement for more than one month".

"Prime Minister Kurti has constantly expressed his readiness for the next meeting which will be well prepared and on bilateral issues," Kryeziu added.

"We are in continuous communication with the European Union and if there is a meeting, it is expected to be held in the third week of August."

The Serbian President told Serbia's public broadcaster Radio Television of Serbia, RTS, that he will be there in Brussels but "does not expect anything".

"Whoever thinks that its possible to preserve peace with Albin Kurti I think is very wrong," Vucic said on Tuesday evening.

Tensions escalated in recent days in Kosovo where Kosovo Serbs protested a government decision about new entry and exit procedures for people with Serbian IDs and about re-registration of cars with Serbian car plates.

Kosovo police on Sunday closed the border crossings after local Serbs set up barricades.

Under US advice, the government decided to postpone the changes until September 1.

Vucic and Kurti last met at an informal dinner with the EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak on May 4 in Berlin.

The two leaders met twice during the summer of 2021 but neither the first nor second meeting produced any apparent progress.

On June 21, the two delegations agreed to a "road map"...