Serbia and Kosovo in High-stakes EU-mediated Talks

Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti, center, walks at the arrival to a meeting with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell and EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak, at North Macedonia's lakeside resort of Ohrid, on Saturday, March 18. 2023. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti, center, walks at the arrival to a meeting with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell and EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak, at North Macedonia's lakeside resort of Ohrid, on Saturday, March 18. 2023. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
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Serbia and Kosovo in High-stakes EU-mediated Talks

Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti, center, walks at the arrival to a meeting with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell and EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak, at North Macedonia's lakeside resort of Ohrid, on Saturday, March 18. 2023. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti, center, walks at the arrival to a meeting with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell and EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak, at North Macedonia's lakeside resort of Ohrid, on Saturday, March 18. 2023. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)

Western officials are hoping for progress on Saturday in EU-mediated talks between Serbia and Kosovo's leaders, in a new attempt to ease decades of tensions between the Balkan wartime foes and solve one of Europe's longest standing disputes.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti arrived at North Macedonia's lakeside resort of Ohrid for meetings with international envoys and rare head-to-head talks, The Associated Press said.

They tentatively agreed last month to the wording of an 11-point EU plan to normalize relations following the neighbors' 1998-1999 war and Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008.

Both countries hope to join the European Union one day, and have been told they must first mend their relations.

Solving the dispute has become more important as war rages in Ukraine and fears mount that Russia could try to stir instability in the volatile Balkans where it holds historic influence.

“This is the time for the leaders of Kosovo, Serbia, and of the entire Western Balkans to show courage and to demonstrate shared responsibility for the success of the EU accession process of the region,” said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who will chair Saturday's meeting.

He said the talks will focus on how to implement the EU plan that calls for the two countries to maintain good neighborly relations, and recognize each other’s official documents and national symbols. If implemented, it would prevent Belgrade from blocking Kosovo’s attempts to seek membership in the United Nations and other international organizations.

The tentative agreement, drafted by France and Germany and supported by the US, doesn’t explicitly call for mutual recognition between Kosovo and Serbia.

“We will focus our discussion on the Implementation Annex of the recent EU Agreement that will result in the far-reaching normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia,’’ Borrell wrote in a blog ahead of the summit. “Both together will, in essence, result in the normalization of life of people in the region and open Kosovo’s and Serbia’s respective paths towards joining the EU.”

Although tentatively agreeing on the EU plan reached last month, Serbia's populist President Vucic seemed to backtrack on some of its points after pressure from far-right groups which consider Kosovo the cradle of the Serbian state and Orthodox religion.

Vucic said Thursday that he “won't sign anything” at the Ohrid meeting and earlier pledged never to recognize Kosovo or allow its UN membership.

On the other hand, Kurti said the implementation of what was already agreed should be the focus of the Ohrid talks.

“I’m an optimist but it is not up to me whether this will succeed or not,” Kurti said. “I offered to sign the European proposal (at the last meeting in Brussels) but the other side was not ready and refused.”

Thousands of far-right Serbian supporters, chanting “Treason, Treason," marched in downtown Belgrade Friday evening demanding that Vucic reject the latest EU plan.

They carried a large banner reading “No to Capitulation” and called for the Serbian president’s resignation if he signs the plan.

Kosovo is a majority ethnic Albanian former Serbian province. The 1998-99 war erupted when separatist ethnic Albanians rebelled against Serbia’s rule, and Belgrade responded with a brutal crackdown. About 13,000 people died, mostly ethnic Albanians.

In 1999 a NATO military intervention forced Serbia to pull out of the territory. Kosovo declared independence in 2008.

Tensions have simmered ever since. Kosovo's independence is recognized by many Western countries, but is opposed by Belgrade with the backing of Russia and China. EU-brokered talks have made little headway in recent years.

Serbia has maintained close ties to its traditional Slavic ally Russia despite the war in Ukraine, partly because of Moscow’s opposition to Kosovo’s independence and possible veto on its UN membership at the Security Council.



Israel Far-Right Issues Rare Rebuke of Settler Attack on Army

Israeli settlers carrying weapons during clashes in which Palestinians were attacked in the town of Huwara in the West Bank. (Getty Images/AFP file)
Israeli settlers carrying weapons during clashes in which Palestinians were attacked in the town of Huwara in the West Bank. (Getty Images/AFP file)
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Israel Far-Right Issues Rare Rebuke of Settler Attack on Army

Israeli settlers carrying weapons during clashes in which Palestinians were attacked in the town of Huwara in the West Bank. (Getty Images/AFP file)
Israeli settlers carrying weapons during clashes in which Palestinians were attacked in the town of Huwara in the West Bank. (Getty Images/AFP file)

An assault by Israeli settlers on soldiers in the occupied West Bank drew condemnation from across the political spectrum, including an unusual rebuke from far-right ministers who typically support the settlement movement.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, considered the two most hardline members of the ruling coalition, called for the perpetrators to be held accountable.

The army said dozens of "civilians" attacked its forces on Sunday night at a military base in the central West Bank, vandalizing army vehicles and a security installation.

According to Israeli media, the attackers were settlers who targeted the commander of the military's Binyamin Regional Brigade, calling him a "traitor".

The attack was widely seen as a reprisal for the arrest of six settlers two days earlier.

In that incident, the commander and troops were attacked as they tried to stop settlers entering a closed military zone near the Palestinian village of Kafr Malik.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned both attacks, saying "no law-abiding country can tolerate acts of violence and anarchy".

Ben-Gvir was among the last senior figures to react.

"Harming our security forces, security installations and the soldiers who are our children, brothers and defenders, crosses a red line, and must be treated with the utmost severity," he wrote on X.

A lawyer, Ben-Gvir gained a name for himself before entering politics by defending in court several settlers accused of attacking Palestinians in the West Bank.

Smotrich wrote on X: "Violence against (Israeli) soldiers and our beloved police forces and the destruction of property are unacceptable."

- West Bank violence -

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967 and violence has surged there since Israel launched its offensive in Gaza following Hamas's October 2023 attack.

Since then, Israeli troops or settlers in the West Bank have killed at least 947 Palestinians -- many of them militants, but also scores of civilians -- according to Palestinian health ministry figures.

At least 35 Israelis, including both civilians and security forces, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or Israeli military operations, according to Israeli official figures.

But settler attacks on army positions are rare.

"It was too much, even for the far-right," said Simon Perry, a security expert and associate professor in the criminology department at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

"The rioters went overboard," he told AFP.

Nimrod Goren, an expert on foreign relations and a veteran commentator on Israeli politics, said the far-right's outrage at the assault was merely "lip service", however.

Violent assaults by Israeli settlers against Palestinians have become common since 2023, without drawing any criticism from the political class, he noted.

"But when soldiers are affected, all of a sudden people are alerted," said Goren, who is chairman of the Israeli foreign policy think tank Mitvim.

- Settlers' eviction drive -

According to the two Israeli experts, the rioters were part of an informal movement known as the hilltop youth, whose goal is to evict Palestinian residents and establish settlements in the West Bank without government approval.

The movement constitutes a fringe, even among the Religious Zionist movement, the ideological backbone of the settlement enterprise.

Several human rights NGOs have denounced the rise in violence committed by the settlers, and their perceived impunity.

Shortly after his appointment in November 2024, Defense Minister Israel Katz announced an end to administrative detention for West Bank settlers, a practice that allows security forces to detain suspects without charge.

Israeli media say the move emboldened extremist settlers and led to a wave of attacks in the Palestinian territory.

On Tuesday, the Israeli press reported that Katz would not bring it back, contrary to the opinion of Israel's Shin Bet security service.

The measure is still in place for Palestinians.

The recent settler violence against army positions in the West Bank even prompted condemnation from leaders within the movement.

"Those who wish to protest must act according to the law and not confront the army," Oded Revivi, a former mayor of the Efrat settlement, and a prominent settler figure, told AFP.

There are around 160 Israeli settlements scattered throughout the West Bank, which the UN considers illegal. Their residents number about 500,000, living among a population of three million Palestinians.