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Serbian president to address nation over fruitless talks on Kosovo

On July 31, tensions escalated in Kosovo and Metohija after Kosovo police had closed a checkpoint on the administrative line with Serbia as part of preparations for the implementation of a ban on the use of Serbian license plates and IDs
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic EPA-EFE/STEPHANIE LECOCQ
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic
© EPA-EFE/STEPHANIE LECOCQ

BELGRADE, August 18. /TASS/. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic will address the nation on Friday over fruitless talks with Albin Kurti, the prime minister of the unrecognized Republic of Kosovo, the Tanjug news agency reported on Thursday, citing a member of Serbia’s delegation.

"President Vucic will make a public address upon return to Belgrade tomorrow. It will be one of his most important addresses," Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Petar Petkovic said.

Earlier, Vucic and other members of the Serbian delegation declined to make comments to the press following talks with Kurti in Brussels. "We thought that reaching a compromise was possible. None of our delegation’s members will make any statements," Petkovic stressed.

The European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borressl said after the meeting that the EU, Serbia and Kosovo had failed to reach a solution to the issue of Serbian license plates and IDs in northern Kosovo.

Tensions escalated dramatically in Kosovo and Metohija on July 31 after Kosovo police had closed a checkpoint on the administrative line with Serbia as part of preparations for the implementation of a ban on the use of Serbian license plates and IDs. In response, Serbs living in the northern part of Kosovo came out to protest and blocked major roads. Police officers and members of the NATO-led Kosovo Force international mission (KFOR) were deployed to a bridge across the Ibar River, which connects the northern and southern parts of Kosovska Mitrovica. As a result of international efforts, Pristina decided to postpone the ban until September 1.

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