No breakthrough in latest round of Serbia-Kosovo talks

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti failed to make progress towards a normalization of their relations on Thursday, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.

The two leaders met in Brussels under Borrell's supervision. Both Borrell and Vucic blamed Kurti for the breakdown, saying he had rejected a compromise plan made by the EU.

Both Serbia and Kosovo are seeking eventual EU membership, but joining the bloc will almost certainly prove impossible unless they can take steps towards reconciliation.

Why did the talks fail?

The meeting formed part of the EU's "Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue," which aims to "aims to achieve a comprehensive legally-binding normalisation agreement between Kosovo and Serbia," according to the EU.

The compromise plan suggested by the EU would require Serbia to take steps towards a de facto recognition of Kosovo. Kosovo, on the other hand, would have to create an association of Serb-majority municipalities which would grant them more autonomy.

Borrell said the Serbian president had accepted the proposal, but Kosovo's leader "was not ready to move forward" unless his country's de facto recognition by Serbia was formalized.

Kurti said the EU was biased towards Serbia and accused Vucic of "sabotaging" the talks.

Decade-long conflicts still simmering

Relations between Serbia and Kosovo have been tense since the war in 1998-99 in which more than 10,000 people were killed. The EU has been trying for years to broker an agreement between the two neighbors. Kosovo unilterally declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, but Belgrade has not recognized it.

Most EU members have recognized Kosovo's independence but there are notable exceptions like Spain and Greece and Cyprus who have not, usually because of similar independence movements or splits on territory they consider their own.

In May this year, tensions escalated over the results of a disputed local election in the Serbian-majority northern part of Kosovo. Serbs clashed with local security forces and international peacekeepers, injuring 93 troops.

A previous mediation attempt in June had also ended without rendering results.

The latest breakdown comes just a day after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for accelerated accession procedures for potential new EU members. Besides the better known and more recent candidate Ukraine, Serbia and Kosovo are also both in this queue, but will first need to resolve their disputes.

fg/msh (AFP, AP)