EU envoy visits Kosovo to discuss talks with Serbia

European Union's new envoy for the Serbia-Kosovo negotiations on Thursday said the Brussels-facilitated dialogue would resume soon and the date would be set after his visit to Belgrade next week.

Miroslav Lajcak was on his first visit to Kosovo after its government revoked all decisions of its two predecessors clearing the path for resuming the stalled dialogue with Serbia.

"I am leaving Kosovo convinced that the conditions have been created for the dialogue to resume," Lajcak said at a news conference at the end of his three-day visit.

The EU-facilitated negotiations between Pristina and Belgrade, which started in 2011, stalled in November 2018.

Kosovo's new prime minister, Avdullah Hoti, has lifted all the previous obstacles, a move which was hailed by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

But the Washington summit wasn't coordinated with the EU. Vucic said that while he accepted Grenell’s invitaiton, the visit to the Washington talks aren't meant to undermine the EU mediation effort.

U.S. envoy Richard Grenell has invited officials from Kosovo and Serbia to meet at the White House on June 27 in hopes of boosting their talks. The invitation came as Lajcak arrived in Kosovo on Tuesday.

Both Serbia and Kosovo have applied to be members of the EU one day.