U.S. special envoy for the Western Balkans Gabriel Escobar, who is on a visit to the region, vowed Washington's support for the European Union's efforts to resolve an ongoing dispute between Kosovo and Serbia and urged both sides to refrain from violence as longstanding differences between Belgrade and Pristina flared again.
Tensions between Kosovo and Serbia resurfaced late last month over an announced change in border policy that would have meant Serbian identity documents and vehicle license plates would no longer be valid in Kosovo territory.
Ethnic Serbs, who live mostly in northern Kosovo, reacted with fury, putting up roadblocks and firing their guns into the air and in the direction of Kosovo police officers. No one was injured.
Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti postponed the implementation of the measure until September 1, after apparent pressure from the West.
The two sides fought a bloody war in the late 1990s, with Kosovo eventually declaring independence from Serbia in 2008. Belgrade -- as well as Russia, China, and five EU member states -- has not recognized its former province's independence and accuses Pristina of trampling on the rights of minority Serbs, who account for 5 percent of Kosovo's 1.8 million population, which is 90 percent Albanian.
For the past several years, the EU has mediated negotiations between Kosovo and Serbia to normalize relations, seeking to kickstart their efforts to join the European Union.
Escobar and the EU envoy Miroslav Lajcak both met with Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade on August 25 after holding talks in Kosovo with Kurti and ethnic Serb leaders as part of the efforts to resolve the disputed issue.
"We want both sides to commit that there will be no violence," Escobar said at a press conference on August 26 at the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade.
Escobar said the talks were difficult, "but I saw the will to find a solution, the will to build trust in the process."
Lajcak described the talks as "difficult but responsible."
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic admitted at a press conference in Belgrade on August 26 that little headway had been made on some key issues such as the license plate registration but said he was still hopeful "some compromise" could be found in further talks, though none has been officially scheduled.
Serbia is a candidate to join the EU, but Brussels has warned it must improve relations with Kosovo before its application is considered.
NATO peacekeepers have stepped up their presence in northern Kosovo in response to the increased tensions.