BRUSSELS: The premiers of Serbia and Kosovo yesterday initialled a historic deal to normalise ties in a move key to the future of the Western Balkans, said EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.
“These negotiations have been concluded,” Ashton said. “The text has been initialled by both prime ministers.”
“What we are seeing is a step away from the past and, for both of them, a step closer to Europe,” Ashton said after winding up talks with Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic and his Kosovo counterpart Hashim Thaci. “The agreement will help us heal the wounds of the past,” Thaci said. “This agreement represents the start of a new era, an era of reconciliation and inter-state cooperation.”
The EU has brokered two years of talks aimed at easing mutual tensions following Serbia’s continued refusal to recognise Kosovo’s 2008 unilateral declaration of independence.
Discussions between the two premiers, crucial to future ties with the EU, were the second in Brussels this week after they hurried back on Ashton’s request less than 48 hours after the collapse of an earlier round.
Belgrade needed a swift deal to enable EU leaders to give it a date at a June EU summit for the launch of long hoped-for negotiations to join the 27-nation bloc.
Without an agreement by Monday, Serbia’s integration into the EU would have been delayed indefinitely.
AFP
