(ANSA-AFP) - TIRANA, OCT 16 - European leaders urged dialogue
between Kosovo and Serbia after a recent spike in tensions, as a
regional Balkan summit opened Monday in the Albanian capital
Tirana. Following the killing of a Kosovo police officer and
three Serb gunmen in clashes in Kosovo's volatile north,
simmering friction escalated to the highest level in years. "It
is time to overcome conflicts that have continued for far too
long," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told the summit. "The
recent escalation of the situation in north Kosovo has proven
just how important that is".
On the eve of the event, European Commission President
Ursula von der Leyen urged Belgrade and Pristina to return to a
Brussels-sponsored dialogue on normalisation of ties. "This is
the way towards a future where Kosovo and Serbia will be part of
the European Union," she said in Tirana on Sunday. But Serbian
President Aleksandar Vucic will not attend this year's edition
of the annual summit. He travelled instead to Beijing for the
Belt and Road Forum, where he is due to sign a free trade
agreement with China. (ANSA-AFP).
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