Greek foreign minister visits Kosovo ahead of its normalization talks with Serbia

By Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias held separate meetings in Kosovo on Sunday with its President Vjosa Osmani and Prime Minister Albin Kurti ahead of the latest round of talks on normalization between Kosovo and Serbia.

Osmani's office said a normalization agreement between Kosovo and Serbia which is expected to be signed in North Macedonia on March 18 should be in accordance with the constitution of Kosovo.

According to the statement, Osmani expects the agreement to contribute to long-term peace and stability in the region and normalize relations between the two countries.

Dendias first met with Osmani and later with Kurti at a working dinner.

Kurti informed Dendias about Kosovo's expectations from the Kosovo-Serbia negotiations to be held in Ohrid, North Macedonia on March 18.

As part of his visit, Dendias also met with his Kosovo counterpart Donika Gervalla-Schwarz.

Greece is among the countries that do not recognize Kosovo, which declared its independence from Serbia unilaterally in 2008 as an independent state.

Kosovo, predominantly inhabited by Albanians, broke away from Serbia in 1999 and declared independence in 2008. It aspires to European Union membership and aims to gain a visa-free regime for the EU zone.

But Serbia has not recognized Kosovo’s independence and sees its former province as its territory.

The EU announced on Feb. 27 that Serbia and Kosovo had agreed to sign a proposal to normalize ties after a meeting between Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

The next round of dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina will be held on March 18 in North Macedonia.

- Serbia-Kosovo dialogue

Launched in 2011, the EU-led Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue aims to find a mutually agreeable solution for disputes in the framework of a legally binding agreement.

Following a flareup in border tensions last summer, Miroslav Lajcak, the EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue, presented the bloc’s latest proposal on normalizing relations in September.

The EU requires Kosovo and Serbia to reach a final agreement and resolve disputes to progress in their integration into the bloc.

Most UN member states, including the US, the UK, France, Germany and Türkiye, recognized Kosovo as a separate country after it declared independence from Serbia 15 years ago.

Serbia, however, continues to regard it as its territory.

Vucic said in October that Germany and France had offered to expedite Serbia’s EU membership process if it recognized Kosovo’s independence and allowed it to become a member of international organizations.

According to the leaked proposal, Kosovo should, for its part, allow the establishment of a union of Serbian municipalities in the north, where many ethnic Serbs live.

EU officials hope to complete negotiations on the plan this spring, with Brussels facilitating the talks.