EU: Serbia and Kosovo must resume talks

The European Union's special envoy on Wednesday told Serbia and Kosovo that they must resume talks on normalizing relations to advance toward membership of the bloc.

Miroslav Lajcak arrived in Belgrade after previously visiting Pristina at the start of his tour in the region.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 but Serbia does not accept this.

The EU has brokered talks to normalize ties but after a White House summit and talks in Brussels in September, the dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo has stalled.

Lajcak said after a meeting with Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic that a "status quo" is unattainable and that EU member states expect the two sides to move on.

"Dialogue is key for both sides to advance on their European path," said Lajcak.

"We have no interest to preserve a status quo and we are ready to bring the process to a successful end as fast as the two sides are ready to go."

Lajcak added that the EU is working closely with the U.S. with a common goal for Serbia and Kosovo in sight, which is membership in the EU.

Most EU nations and the United States have recognized Kosovo's independence while Serbia has had support from its allies Russia and China in insisting the predominantly-ethnic Albanian territory remains part of the country.

Serbia was forced to cede control over Kosovo in 1999 after a U.S.-led NATO intervention ended Belgrade's crackdown against Kosovo separatists.

More than 10,000 people died in the 1998-99 Kosovo conflict.

Vucic said after talks with Lajcak that Serbia is ready to resume the talks and insists on reaching a compromise solution.

"We believe that a compromise agreement means no one gets everything and everyone gets enough," said Vucic.