Kosovo

U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Palmer and the EU envoy for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, are visiting Serbia to press its leaders to resume talks on the normalization of ties with Kosovo.

As long-interrupted talks with Serbia ready to resume, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti faces opposition calls to get the United States round the table in the EU-facilitated dialogue.

Recent elections in Kosovo reflected a strong desire for change, the head of the UN mission there, UNMIK, said in his virtual briefing to the Security Council on Tuesday. 

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Kosovo's parliament has elected Vjosa Osmani, the candidate of the ruling Vetevendosje (Self-Determination) movement, as the country's new president.

The Belgrade-backed Kosovo Serb party Srpska Lista submitted a complaint to Kosovo’s Constitutional Court on Monday, seeking a ruling against the decision of Prime Minister Albin Kurti to give them only one ministry in his new cabinet instead of the usual two.

Regional cooperation and good neighbourly relations are key elements in the EU accession process for all western Balkan countries. Serbia and Kosovo have both declared their intention to join the EU. However, despite some initial successes, such as the Brussels Agreement of 2013, the dialogue facilitated by the EU and initiated in 2011 has stalled. In 2020, the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue was relaunched and supported by the international community.

The European Union’s special envoy has warned Serbia and Kosovo that they must resume talks on normalizing ties if they want to make progress toward membership in the bloc. Miroslav Lajcak arrived in Serbia's capital, Belgrade, on March 3 after previously visiting Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, at the start of his tour in the region.

With almost all votes now counted, the leader of the triumphant Vetevendosje party, Albin Kurti, said he planned to make Kosovo a 'good country to live in' – while his humbled rivals sounded a contrite note, pledging to be constructive in opposition.