PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — The U.S. ambassador urged Kosovo’s government on Thursday to proceed with establishing an association of its Serb majority towns in order to unblock European Union-facilitated normalization talks with Serbia.
U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey M. Hovenier said “there is no reason for the government of Kosovo not to move forward with this draft statute.”
Normalization talks between Kosovo and Serbia have failed to make progress, particularly following a September shootout between masked Serb gunmen and Kosovo police that left four people dead and ratcheted up tensions in the region.
The EU and the United States are pressing both countries to implement agreements that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti reached earlier this year.
During a trip to the region at the end of last month, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told Kosovo to establish an Association of the Serb-Majority Municipalities and pushed Serbia to deliver “de facto recognition” of the independence of Kosovo, which Belgrade still considers its province.
The 1998-1999 war between Serbia and Kosovo…
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