EU and US envoys in Kosovo to back Serbia talks

Top officials from the European Union and the United States on Tuesday said they were visiting Kosovo to assure the success of an upcoming high-level meeting between Pristina and Belgrade.

The EU envoy for the summit in Pristina, Miroslav Lajcak, said the joint visit with U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Matthew Palmer, showed that "the transatlantic cooperation on the dialog and on the Western Balkans is excellent."

EU-facilitated negotiations to normalize ties between Serbia and its former province started a decade ago but stalled last year.

Kosovar prime minister Albin Kurti's new government, which took office in March, has said it has been focused on tackling the pandemic, and that talks with Serbia are not high on its list of immediate goals.

Palmer said that Washington while the U.S. is not a party to the dialog process, but was working with both parties with a goal of "full normalization of the relationship."

Serbia's president Aleksandar Vucic has repeatedly said that he would never accept Kosovo's independence.

Brussels and Washington have said that normalization of relations between Serbia and Kosovo are essential for their further integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions.

Serbia and Kosovo both are at different stages of EU integration and Kosovo is also working towards NATO membership.