Nationalists demonstrate against EU peace plan for Kosovo

A day before a new round of negotiations to normalize relations between Serbia and Kosovo, several thousand people demonstrated in Belgrade against an accompanying EU peace plan. About 4,000 people gathered in front of Saint Sava’s Cathedral in the center of the Serbian capital on Friday evening and moved from there to the presidential seat. The crowd shouted “Treason!” and praised Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti will meet EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in North Macedonia on Saturday to discuss the Brussels peace plan.

Serbia and Kosovo are under increasing pressure from Western countries to reach an agreement that will allow relations between the two sides to normalize. For months there has been enormous tension on the border between the two countries.

Serbia and Kosovo want to join the EU

Kosovo, a country of 1.8 million people with a predominantly Albanian population, declared independence from Serbia in 2008, but Belgrade still considers it a Serbian province to this day. Both Serbia and Kosovo are seeking to join the EU.

A meeting in Brussels at the end of February failed to bring any breakthrough, even though EU representatives held out the prospect of an early agreement. Kurti and Vuvic then blamed each other for the preliminary failure of the negotiations. Vucic said in an interview that he “would not sign or accept any formal or informal recognition of Kosovo”. (aeg/sda/afp)