NATO chief sees ‘historic opportunity’ for peace after latest round of Serbia-Kosovo talks

By Agnes Szucs

BRUSSELS (AA) - NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday called the recent steps on normalizing relations between Kosovo and Serbia a “historic opportunity for peace.”

Speaking at a joint news conference with Albanian President Bajram Begaj, Stoltenberg welcomed “the constructive approach” shown last week by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti during their talks in Brussels.

The leaders endorsed the text of the EU’s proposal on normalizing relations between Kosovo and Serbia, and agreed that technical talks should continue from now on about the concrete steps to implement the proposal.

“We now have a historic opportunity for lasting peace which could benefit the entire region,” Stoltenberg said, praising the “flexibility and readiness to compromise” shown by the parties.

At the same time, he underlined, that any solution to the dispute between Kosovo and Serbia must “take into account the full respect of human rights, democratic values and the rule of law for domestic reforms, and good neighborly relationships.”

Stoltenberg also noted that NATO is “committed to continuing to contribute and to ensure the presence” of the NATO-led KFOR mission in Kosovo.

Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, with most UN member states, including the US, UK, France, Germany and Türkiye, recognizing it as a separate autonomous country. However, Serbia continues to regard it as its territory.

Brussels has facilitated the Serbia-Kosovo dialogue which is designed to ease tensions and resolve issues.