Vucic praises Merkel as German leader visits

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic praised outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel as a true ally during a joint news conference in Belgrade on Monday.

"Angela Merkel was and is undoubtedly the true leader of Europe," Vucic said, and he expressed "a fear about who will replace her."

The visit to Serbia is part of the German Chancellor's tour of the six remaining western Balkan states yet to join the European Union.

Merkel said it is of regional strategic importance to integrate the Balkans into the EU and urged Serbia and other states to accelerate democratic reforms in order to join the bloc.

But tensions over Kosovo, Serbia's former province, remain a source of volatility in the Balkans.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, and is recognised by most Western nations.

Both Serbia and Kosovo have been told that they cannot hope to move forward in their efforts to join the EU before resolving the decades-old rift that exploded in a conflict in 1998-99, leaving more than 10,000 people dead and triggering a NATO intervention.

IMAGE: AP