Paris
\nThe European Union is pressing wartime foes Serbia and Kosovo to discuss a new plan to normalize ties but must first ease a flare-up in tensions that\u2019s blocking progress.
\nSerbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti traveled to Paris for two days of negotiations on Thursday to discuss a proposal that an EU official described as the latest push by the bloc to resolve a dispute that has simmered since Yugoslavia\u2019s bloody breakup.
\nThe proposal, part of which was leaked by the Brussels-based Euractiv website on Wednesday, calls for Serbia and Kosovo to develop \u201cgood neighborly relations with each other based on equal rights,\u201d bound by the common goal to join the EU. The draft would also help Kosovo join international bodies and the establishment of diplomatic missions in each others\u2019 capitals.
\nEach Balkan leader were to meet French President Emmanuel Macron and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in Paris separately on Thursday and Friday, according to the EU official, who is close to the talks but spoke on the condition of anonymity because of their sensitivity.
\n\u201cI am prepared, and always interested, for dialog,\u201d Kurti said on Facebook, acknowledging the existence of the EU\u2019s proposal. He said he was ready to discuss the \u201ccomplete normalization of relations between the Republic of Kosovo and Serbia, with mutual recognition at the center.\u201d
\nOfficials from Serbia and Kosovo and the EU didn\u2019t respond to requests from Bloomberg on details of the proposal. The bloc has made normalizing ties a condition for either of the Balkan states to achieve membership.
\nVucic has vowed to never recognize the independence of Kosovo, which seceded from Serbia in 2008, almost a decade after the two sides fought a war on mostly ethnic lines.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Paris The European Union is pressing wartime foes Serbia and Kosovo to discuss a new plan to normalize ties but must first ease a flare-up in tensions that\u2019s blocking progress. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti traveled to Paris for two days of negotiations on Thursday to discuss a proposal that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":294722,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-294698","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n