Kosovo PM says new Serbia talks to push for action

(ZAGREB) - A fresh round of EU-brokered talks between Serbia and breakaway Kosovo will focus on taking action on the deals the foes have reached so far, Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said Tuesday.

The talks are aimed at resolving practical issues inhabitants of Kosovo face because of Serbia's refusal to recognise Pristina's unilaterally declared independence in 2008. The dialogue is due to resume Wednesday after a long pause following Serbian elections in May.

"What should be achieved first is the implementation of technical agreements" reached since the talks were launched last year, Thaci told reporters on a visit to Zagreb.

The talks -- mediated by the European Union, which both Belgrade and Pristina hope to join -- have so far yielded several agreements such as the mutual recognition of university degrees or returning property records and a deal to jointly manage border crossings.

"The removal of the parallel structures of security that Serbia has installed" in Serb-dominated northern Kosovo is also on the table, Thaci said.

Pristina claims that Belgrade maintains a parallel police and intelligence presence in northern Kosovo.

The fate of the some 1,800 people -- mainly Kosovo Albanians but also up to 500 Serbs -- who went missing during and after the 1998-1999 conflict between Serbian security forces and ethnic Albanian guerrilla fighters will also be raised.

Thaci stressed that although he would continue the dialogue, Pristina would not re-negotiate the status of the territory.

"Kosovo's status was resolved once for all with its declaration of independence," he said.

Thaci, who arrived for an official visit to Croatia earlier Tuesday, spoke after meeting his Croatian counterpart Zoran Milanovic.

EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton on Monday invited Dacic and Thaci to a fresh round of talks. The two premiers had met together for the first time on October 19, with Ashton meeting each individually before a joint session.

Serbia rejects Kosovo's proclamation of independence, which is recognised by some 90 states including the United States and 22 of the EU's 27 members.

Serbia is an EU candidate member and Kosovo hopes to formalise ties, but Brussels has made clear to both that they must pursue dialogue with each other and produce concrete results.

Last week, Ashton made a joint visit to the Balkans with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who insisted that Kosovo's independence was not open for discussion while urging both sides to move forward with the talks.