Serbia and Kosovo “agree on almost anything” when they sit down for peace talks in Brussels tomorrow. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said this afternoon after exploratory talks at NATO that the Serbian president expects “difficult talks”.
Tomorrow’s talks, led by EU Foreign Affairs Coordinator Josep Borrell, aim to defuse tensions as the Kosovo government in Pristina makes another attempt early next month to force the Serbs in Kosovo to use Kosovo. License plates and travel documents. This also led to major tensions at the end of last month because many Serbs continue to consider Kosovo as part of Serbia and do not want to be recognized as an independent country.
According to Serbian Vucic, Pristina is fanning the fire, including stories of Serbian invasion plans. “We’ve been hearing about that for months, but nothing has happened yet.” Vucic also denied that he needed “foreign” (read: Russian) help to build additional security bases. “What we need is a rational approach and compromise through conversations.”
NATO President Jens Stoltenberg held separate talks with the Prime Minister of Kosovo and Vucic Albin Kurti, and then held separate press conferences with them. Stoltenberg said that NATO would not allow the conflicts between Pristina and Belgrade to lead to new conflicts in the Balkans or worse. According to Stoltenberg, the peacekeeping force “KFOR” of about 4,000 soldiers, which is mandated by the United Nations to ensure stability in the region, “intervenes when necessary” and is expanded if necessary.
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