A European diplomatic intervention on Monday failed to resolve a dangerous row between Serbia and Kosovo over vehicle number plates, with Brussels blaming Pristina for the stalemate.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell hosted Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti in Brussels amid a row that could trigger a regional crisis.
Afterward, Borrell said Vucic had been ready to accept an EU compromise proposal on vehicle licensing “that could have avoided this risky situation” — but that Kurti had not.
Pristina has said that, by April, about 10,000 Kosovo Serbs with license plates issued by Serbia must replace them with plates from the Republic of Kosovo.
Borrell told reporters that he would brief EU member states and allies “about the behavior of the different parties and the lack of respect for international legal obligations.”
“And I have to say that, particularly for Kosovo, I know this sends a very negative political signal,” he said.
The underlying source of tension is Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence, which Serbia does not recognize. Belgrade encourages Kosovo’s Serb minority to remain loyal to Serbia.
In the latest development this month, Serbs in northern Kosovo resigned from public institutions in protest over the number plate row.
The dispute sounded alarm bells in the EU, which has been mediating talks to try to normalize ties, and wants both sides to hold off on provocative gestures.
After Monday’s latest emergency mediation, Vucic said that Serbia had been “absolutely constructive” and had agreed to back a text that had been modified “dozens of times.”
“All we did was insist on the fact that the agreements already signed be applied,” he told TV Pink.
However, Kurti told reporters that Kosovo was demanding broader talks leading to full normalization of ties.
“We cannot be irresponsible and not deal with pertinent issues and meet as state leaders that only discuss license plates and not discuss normalization of relations,” he said. “That is why we are in the situation we are in.”
The US said it was “disappointed” at the lack of an agreement and called on Kurti “to reach a fair compromise.”
“Both Prime Minister Kurti and President Vucic will need to make concessions to ensure that we do not jeopardize decades of hard-won peace in an already fragile region,” the US Department of State said in a statement.
Washington had urged Kosovo to delay the number plate requirement, saying that the Western-backed state has been too stubborn and should allow time for EU-led diplomacy.
With the talks at a stalemate, Borrell said he had urged Kosovo to stop implementing its number plate law in “North Kosovo,” meaning the main Serb-majority enclave.
He also told Belgrade not to issue new Serb plates to vehicles from Kosovo’s cities, saying that a cooling-off period would allow time and space for diplomacy to resume.
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