The “crisis management mode” meeting organised by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, between Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti on Thursday 18 August in Brussels did not ease the tensions of recent weeks between the two countries over the use of Serbian number plates in Kosovo and entry/exit documents for people travelling between Kosovo and Serbia.
On Sunday 21 August, the Serbian president urged NATO troops to “ do their job” in Kosovo, warning that if they did not, his country would take action to protect its minority.
On Thursday, following a meeting in Brussels, the High Representative announced that no agreement had been reached, but that the two leaders had agreed that the process should continue and that talks would resume in the coming days. “We have agreed that we must continue to work together, in a politically intelligent and responsible way, to seek a comprehensive and mutually acceptable solution to a situation that is creating insecurity and instability first and foremost for the citizens of the region, but also for Europe as a whole”, Borrell added.
According to the EU diplomatic chief, the current tensions on the ground are symptoms of the broader issue of the unresolved status of relations between Belgrade and Pristina. “It is time to look for solutions and resolve long-standing issues”, Borrell stressed, acknowledging the “well-known” differences between the leaders of each country in their views on the final status of relations between Kosovo and Serbia. “But (the leaders) have agreed to continue discussions on a regular basis in the coming period in order to move the normalisation process forward quickly”, he said, adding that he would make it a priority on his agenda.
He warned that the parties will be fully responsible for any escalation on the ground.
On 17 August, in separate meetings with the two leaders of Serbia and Kosovo, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also called for the avoidance of an escalation of tensions. He explained that the NATO-led peacekeeping mission KFOR, with more than 3,700 troops, was ready to intervene if stability was threatened. “Our commander is in contact with both the Kosovar security organisations and the Serbian defence chief”, he said. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)