Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic said on Monday evening after talks with the European Union High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Catherine Ashdown, that he expected an agreement with Kosovo to be signed by the end of this month, stressing that Pristina had relented on the issue of powers to be given to the association of Serb municipalities in northern Kosovo.
"Pristina which previously insisted that every solution (for northern Kosovo) must fit in within their legal frameworks has softened its position and the agreement will be signed on March 20 or 28,” Nikolic said after the two and a half hour long meeting with Ashdown.
Nikolic was at the helm of the Serbian delegation which also included Prime Minister Ivica Dacic and Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and who held talks with Ashdown, at the initiative of the European Union, as part of the preparations for the next round of dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo on the normalisation of relations.
So far, seven rounds of talks between the prime ministers of Serbia Ivica Dacic and Kosovo Hashim Thaci were held under the auspices of Catherine Ashdown. The negotiations got stuck on the issue of parallel structures in northern Kosovo, predominantly populated by Serbs. The issue of parallel structures in northern Kosovo is the most difficult issue in the negotiations so far.
The next round of talks is scheduled for March 20.
After the talks with Nikolic, Ashdown issued a statement saying that she underlined to both sides it was important to reach an agreement as soon as possible.
Visible normalisation of relations is a condition for progress of both sides when it comes to European integration processes, she said.
Ashton is scheduled to travel to Pristina for a day-long visit and hold talks with Kosovo leaders.
