PRISTINA -- Senior U.S. diplomat Derek Chollet, who is visiting the Balkans this week for talks with the leaders of Kosovo and Serbia, said normalization talks between Pristina and Belgrade have reached "a critical moment" and it’s time to break the diplomatic stagnation.
Chollet, speaking with reporters on January 11 after talks in Pristina with Kosovar Prime Minister Albin and other leaders, said the United States is willing to expend "diplomatic energy" on "a comprehensive agreement on normalized relations centered at mutual recognition."
"I think it's time for us to get down to the work in hand," he said.
Washington shares a vision of Kosovo fully integrated into Europe-Atlantic structures and sees its diverse multiethnic society as a strength, he told reporters.
"We believe that the government of Kosovo should celebrate that diversity and should establish policies that bring success to all Kosovars, regardless of their ethnicity," he said.
But he stressed that Kosovo must fulfill all obligations under the Brussels Agreement -- the EU-facilitated dialogue to normalize Kosovo-Serbia relations -- including the formation of an association of municipalities with majority Serb residents.
"We believe that the association is an urgent issue. It is an urgent issue on the agenda of the dialogue. It has taken on even greater importance after the recent events in the north," Chollet said.
Tensions over Kosovo were heightened last month when ethnic Serbs set up roadblocks in northern Kosovo over the arrest of an ethnic Serb ex-police officer.
The roadblocks were dismantled after Kosovar authorities announced the release of the former policeman, who had been held on suspicion of being involved in an attack on Central Election Commission officials.
Belgrade and Pristina have been in an EU-led dialogue on the normalization of relations since 2011. Kosovo, which has an overwhelmingly ethnic Albanian majority, broke away from Serbia after a war in 1998-99 and declared independence in 2008, but Belgrade has never recognized it.
Chollet said that what he heard in Pristina was "a strong desire" of the Kosovo government to engage meaningfully in normalization talks.
"I really expect to see some talks soon, and that’s something we will take tomorrow when I see [Serbian] President [Aleksandar] Vucic," he said.
His message to both Pristina and to Belgrade is that there should be no provocative acts. He said the next meeting between Kurti and Vucic should happen as soon as possible but didn't give a date.
Kurti's press office said the talks with Chollet emphasized the need for active and constructive engagement in dialogue and for intensification of efforts toward the full normalization of relations with mutual recognition at the center.
President Kosovar Vjosa Osmani said in the meeting that the increased engagement of the United States in the dialogue with Serbia is "decisive to ensure a successful result for the benefit of the citizens of Kosovo."