Vucic meets EU rep, calls for Kosovo talks to restart

Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic on Monday called for the swift resumption of European Union-mediated talks on Kosovo after bolstering his hold on power at home in an overwhelming election victory for his governing right-wing party.

Vucic met with European Union's envoy, Miroslav Lajcak, in Belgrade on Monday, pledging support for the EU-mediated effort to reach an agreement in the long-standing dispute.

Lajcak, who is a former Slovak foreign minister, said the EU wants to help resolve all disputed issues between Serbia and Kosovo through a "comprehensive agreement."

"We want to make sure that once this dialogue comes to its end, we have an agreement that has addressed every issue and (that) there are no gaps and that there are no question marks any more," he said.

Lajcak also said resumption of dialogue is expected next month, but offered no immediate date.

Kosovo was part of Serbia until an armed uprising by the ethnic Albanian majority population in 1998-1999 triggered a bloody Serb crackdown.

This in turn prompted a NATO bombing campaign against Serbia to force its troops out of Kosovo.

Belgrade refuses to recognise Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence.

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.

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

Vucic travels next to Moscow for talks with key ally Vladimir Putin, while a US-brokered Serbia-Kosovo meeting is set for June 27 in Washington.