(3 Feb 2022) The European Union envoy in talks on normalizing relations between Serbia and Kosovo on Thursday said he was "rather optimistic" that a next top-level meeting in the stalled EU-facilitated negotiations will result in some progress.
Miroslav Lajcak did not specify when the meeting between the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo would take place.
But he said diplomatic efforts are underway to make sure that the future encounter between Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti ends with a result.
"The question is when and certainly not if the meeting will happen," Lajcak said at a joint press conference with the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary Gabriel Escobar in Belgrade.
"As soon as we clear understanding of what will be the outcome, and we are quite close to it, we will invite parties to Brussels."
Lajcak offered no other details.
He and Escobar spoke at the end of their visits this week to Kosovo and Serbia.
Both Serbia and Kosovo have been told they must find common ground in order to move forward in their bids to join the 27-nation bloc.
The focus of their dispute is Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia, which Belgrade refuses to recognize.
Since the start of the EU-brokered negotiations 11 years ago, Belgrade and Pristina have agreed on a number of issues including free travel and trade.
But they have remained far apart on Kosovo's independence.
Escobar said that although the United States is not directly involved in the dialogue it will support any agreement between the two sides both financially and politically.
He urged the two sides to move forward and open "tremendous possibilities" of the region
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