Fifth round of talks ends without agreement

Source: B92, Tanjug

BRUSSELS -- Serbian and Kosovo PMs Ivica Dačić and Hashim Thaci failed to reach an agreement in the fifth round of the dialogue held in Brussels on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Hashim Thaci, Catherine Ashton and Ivica Dačić (EU, file)

The next meeting between Dačić and Thaci, mediated by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton, will be held on March 4.
Even though it was expected that the fifth round of the talks would be crucial, it seems that the issue of the abolition of the Serbian institutions in northern Kosovo was too sensitive.

After the three-hour meeting on Tuesday, the two sides failed to reach an agreement after the meeting on Wednesday that lasted from 11:30 until 16:00.

“The Belgrade-Priština dialogue will last as long as it takes to find solutions,” said Ashton's Spokeswoman Maja Kocijančić.

She confirmed that the talks between Dačić and Thaci started around 11:30.

Kocijančić said earlier that the main topic of the talks was northern Kosovo and added that the dialogue was important for the life of people in both Serbia and Kosovo, as well as for the continuation of the EU integration process.

Tanjug has learnt that the main topic of yesterday’s talks was the Municipal Court in northern Kosovska Mitrovica which is adminstered by EULEX as a part of the Kosovo judicial system. The court has not worked for five years because the local population does not allow judges and prosecutors to enter the building.

“Certain progress has been made but nothing has been agreed yet,” Tanjug was told by a Brussels diplomat who was informed about the recent developments in this round.

According to the source, Dačić and Thaci were also supposed to talk about liaison officers today.

The fifth round of the talks started on Tuesday in Brussels.