{"id":171533,"date":"2011-03-08T13:15:08","date_gmt":"2011-03-08T13:15:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/new.moldova.org\/2011\/03\/08\/serbia-and-kosovo-in-first-post-independence-talks-217991-eng\/"},"modified":"2011-03-08T13:15:08","modified_gmt":"2011-03-08T13:15:08","slug":"serbia-and-kosovo-in-first-post-independence-talks-217991-eng","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/serbia-and-kosovo-in-first-post-independence-talks-217991-eng\/","title":{"rendered":"Serbia and Kosovo in first ‘post-independence’ talks"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

Serbia and Kosovo are due to hold their first high-level talks since Pristina declared independence three years ago.<\/p>\n

Kosovo’s declaration of independence is rejected by Serbia, but both sides have agreed to the EU-sponsored talks.<\/p>\n

The meeting in Brussels is due to focus on issues vital to Kosovo’s daily life, including telecoms and airspace.<\/p>\n

Correspondents say progress is likely to determine whether Belgrade or Pristina can move towards eventual EU membership.<\/p>\n

"The objective of the talks is to improve the lives of people in the region, to improve co-operation within the Balkans as a whole and bring (them) more in line with European standards," a senior EU official said, quoted by Reuters.<\/p>\n

Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian majority fought an insurgency against Serbia in the 1990s, a conflict in which more than 10,000 people were killed and hundreds of thousands driven from their homes.<\/p>\n

Kosovo was placed under UN administration and unilaterally declared independence three years ago.<\/p>\n

So far it has been recognised by 75 countries, including the US and most of the EU.<\/p>\n

Serbia continues to block Kosovo’s trade and routinely stops passengers with Kosovo passports or car registrations.<\/p>\n

Among other issues, Kosovo also cannot get its own telephone country code or join many international economic bodies because of Belgrade’s opposition.<\/p>\n

Serbia’s lead negotiator Borko Stefanovic has cautioned against any dramatic progress being made although he hoped that some of the key issues would be resolved by the end of the year.<\/p>\n

His opposite number, Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister Edita Tahiri, has said that she wants the talks to contribute to the normalisation of relations. Issues surrounding independence and sovereignty would not be discussed, she said, as they had already been "irrevocably settled".<\/p>\n

The initial two-day meeting in Brussels will be chaired by EU diplomat Robert Cooper and the aim is for the two sides to reconvene frequently over the coming months.<\/p>\n

The BBC’s Mark Lowen in Belgrade says that while neither side will back down from their fundamental position on Kosovo’s status, the goal of eventual EU membership might just persuade them to reach a compromise solution.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reading Time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>Serbia and Kosovo are due to hold their first high-level talks since Pristina declared independence three years ago.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":171532,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-171533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"content_social_share":"Reading Time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

Serbia and Kosovo are due to hold their first high-level talks since Pristina declared independence three years ago.<\/p>\n

Kosovo’s declaration of independence is rejected by Serbia, but both sides have agreed to the EU-sponsored talks.<\/p>\n

The meeting in Brussels is due to focus on issues vital to Kosovo’s daily life, including telecoms and airspace.<\/p>\n

Correspondents say progress is likely to determine whether Belgrade or Pristina can move towards eventual EU membership.<\/p>\n

"The objective of the talks is to improve the lives of people in the region, to improve co-operation within the Balkans as a whole and bring (them) more in line with European standards," a senior EU official said, quoted by Reuters.<\/p>\n

Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian majority fought an insurgency against Serbia in the 1990s, a conflict in which more than 10,000 people were killed and hundreds of thousands driven from their homes.<\/p>\n

Kosovo was placed under UN administration and unilaterally declared independence three years ago.<\/p>\n

So far it has been recognised by 75 countries, including the US and most of the EU.<\/p>\n

Serbia continues to block Kosovo’s trade and routinely stops passengers with Kosovo passports or car registrations.<\/p>\n

Among other issues, Kosovo also cannot get its own telephone country code or join many international economic bodies because of Belgrade’s opposition.<\/p>\n

Serbia’s lead negotiator Borko Stefanovic has cautioned against any dramatic progress being made although he hoped that some of the key issues would be resolved by the end of the year.<\/p>\n

His opposite number, Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister Edita Tahiri, has said that she wants the talks to contribute to the normalisation of relations. Issues surrounding independence and sovereignty would not be discussed, she said, as they had already been "irrevocably settled".<\/p>\n

The initial two-day meeting in Brussels will be chaired by EU diplomat Robert Cooper and the aim is for the two sides to reconvene frequently over the coming months.<\/p>\n

The BBC’s Mark Lowen in Belgrade says that while neither side will back down from their fundamental position on Kosovo’s status, the goal of eventual EU membership might just persuade them to reach a compromise solution.<\/p>\n

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