Von Der Leyen To Hold In-Person Talks With Serbian, Kosovar Leaders On Thursday, Friday

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th June, 2020) European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Thursday that she will hold in-person talks with the prime minister of the self-proclaimed republic of Kosovo Avdullah Hoti in Brussels later in the day, before meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Friday.

"1st physical visit since coronavirus. Looking forward to receiving Kosovo PM @Avdullah Hoti this evening & Serbian President @avucic Friday morning. An important opportunity to discuss reforms needed to advance EU path of our Balkan partners & long-term recovery of the region," von der Leyen wrote in a post on Twitter.

Serbian and Kosovar leaders had been invited to the United States to hold talks at the White House on Saturday. However, the planned summit appears to be in jeopardy after the president of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, announced that he would not attend after he was indicted on Wednesday by a court in The Hague on war crimes accusations.

Earlier on Thursday, Hoti also stated that he would be unable to attend the planned summit at the White House.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Thursday said that the Russian government is closely monitoring the ongoing developments in the legal case against Thaci.

The European Union has previously mediated negotiations between Serbian and Kosovar leaders through the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue, although talks in this format have not been held since 2018.