Serbia-Kosovo – Progress after 12 hours – Politics

After 12 hours of negotiations in North Macedonia’s Ohrid, the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo have made significant progress. “We have a deal,” said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell late on Saturday evening. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić () and Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti had previously negotiated a new agreement on fundamental relations between the hostile Balkan states. Kosovo, inhabited almost exclusively by Albanians, declared itself independent in 2008, but Serbia does not recognize this. The planned agreement envisages that Belgrade will not recognize Kosovo under international law, but will acknowledge its statehood, it will recognize passports, license plates and customs documents, and that Kosovo will institutionally safeguard the rights of the Serb ethnic group. Bilateral relations must be improved in order for Serbia and Kosovo to achieve their goal of joining the EU.