June 19 (SeeNews) - Serbia will resume its talks for normalisation of relations with Kosovo in Brussels on June 22, the Serbian government said on Tuesday.
The main topic of the negotiations will be the compliance with the Brussels Agreement, which is a pre-condition for talks on other points at issue, Serbian foreign minister Ivica Dacic said in a statement.
The Brussels Agreement was reached in April 2013 between the governments of Serbia and Kosovo on the normalisation of their relations but neither of the parties has signed it. It includes a clause envisaging the integration of the Serb-majority municipalities in northern Kosovo into the Kosovo legal system, which has not been fulfilled by the government in Prisina so far. Moreover, according to the agreement, neither side will block, or encourage others to block, the other side's progress in their respective EU paths.
Serbia's president Aleksandar Vucic will meet his Kosovo counterpart Hashim Thaci in Brussels on June 24 as part of the negotiations, Serbia's government said in a separate statement earlier.
The European Union said earlier this year that no progress was achieved during the meeting of the chief negotiators from Belgrade and Pristina, Marko Djuric and Avni Arifi, within the framework of the EU-facilitated dialogue for the normalisation of ties in Brussels from March 19 to 21.
The talks in March focused on the establishment of a community of Serb municipalities in Kosovo, energy issues, the construction of a new bridge in Kosovska Mitrovica, the freedom of movement and integrated management of border crossings.
The Kosovo authorities refuse to implement the provisions of the Brussels Agreement on the formation of a community of Serb municipalities in Kosovo, the general secretary of Serbia's president's office, Nikola Selakovic, said in March.
Belgrade does not recognise the independence of Kosovo, its former province predominantly populated by ethnic Albanians. Kosovo unilaterally proclaimed independence from Serbia in February 2008 and has so far been recognised by more than half of the 193 UN member states.
The dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo for normalisation of their relations has been carried out since 2013 under the auspices of the European Union.