Minority Serbs in Kosovo reject EU-brokered deal between Kosovo and Serbia

By: The Associated Press

MITROVICA, Kosovo - Serbs in Kosovo say they reject an EU-brokered deal between Kosovo and Serbia on practical issues because it establishes Kosovo's claim to statehood.

Some 600 representatives from Kosovo's Serb municipalities that defy Pristina's authority said in a document approved Monday the agreement was an act of "national treason and against state interests."

The representatives meeting in the Serb-run part of the town of Mitrovica also called upon Serbia to stop talks with Kosovo's ethnic Albanians and to end co-operation with the EU's 3,000-strong police and justice mission.

Ongoing talks between Kosovo and Serbia have resulted in a deal on freedom of movement, civil registries, diplomas, but have not touched upon the sensitive issue of Kosovo's status.

Serbia rejects Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence.