At the end of her meeting with Serbian and Kosovan Presidents Tomislav Nikolić and Hashim Thaçi and Prime Ministers Isa Mustafa and Aleksandar Vučić on Tuesday 24 January, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini announced that the presidents and prime ministers had agreed to leave the tension behind and to resume a series of high level dialogues in the coming days.
Meeting in Brussels, the Serbian and Kosovan leaders "discussed the developments over the past days, agreed to leave the tensions behind and to focus on the work ahead", Mogherini stated in a press release. Tension has recently mounted between the two sides, due in particular to the attempted crossing of a train from Belgrade to Mitrovica without the authorisation of the Kosovan authorities (see EUROPE 11705).
Mogherini announced that the discussions between the parties would be stepped up over the coming days. "We decided to have a series of rounds of the high level dialogue, starting from the coming days", she added, without giving further details.
She seemed optimistic about the continuation of the discussions and said she was "encouraged by the leadership, vision, commitment and engagement shown by the political leaders" in Brussels "to address and solve issues of mutual concern through the dialogue". "Both sides agreed to take the dialogue forward in a spirit of respect, cooperation and mutual understanding", she added.
Mogherini also said that progress in the normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia were essential for both parties, for the EU and for all of the Western Balkans. "Advancing in the dialogue is key for both sides in moving forward on their respective paths towards the European Union", she said. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)