The European Union’s new envoy for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue, Peter Sørensen, held his first trilateral meeting with the chief negotiators of Serbia and Kosovo on Monday, with both sides discussing steps toward normalising relations amid ongoing tensions.
“Hosted a long meeting of the Chief Negotiators of Kosovo and Serbia in Brussels. Spoke about advancing the normalisation of their relations in preparation for a high-level Dialogue meeting, pending implementation obligations, and current issues. Agreed to continue the discussion soon,” Sørensen wrote on social media platform X on June 10.
The talks, which took place in Brussels, brought together Serbia’s lead negotiator Petar Petković and Kosovo’s deputy prime minister Besnik Bislimi. It marked the first joint session since Sørensen replaced Miroslav Lajčák as the EU Special Representative for the dialogue.
Last week, Sørensen met Petković and Bislimi separately in advance of the trilateral session. The next round of talks is expected to take place in early July.
Following the meeting, Petković said the Serbian delegation reiterated its demand for the formation of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities in Kosovo and called for continued discussions on the Association’s statute.
“We need to talk about the statute and the formation of the Association. I also talked about the shutdown of Serbian institutions in KiM [Kosovo and Metohija]… Our job is to fight for the Serbian people,” Petković said, as quoted by Serbian media outlets.
He added that Belgrade presented a de-escalation plan and insisted that human rights issues must be addressed first. Petković also accused Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti of repressing ethnic Serbs in the north of the country.
Bislimi, for his part, said Sørensen had “a clear vision on how to move things forward” but noted that it was still too early for concrete outcomes.
“Next week he will send two of his closest people to Kosovo and Serbia to get additional information, and then in early July, he will decide on the next step. Sørensen wants another meeting to take place in July… It means that he wants to see results, but so far it is known that Serbia has sabotaged the process,” Bislimi told Koha Ditore, a Kosovo-based daily.
He stressed that the issue of missing persons remained Kosovo’s top priority in the dialogue.
The last high-level EU-mediated meeting between Serbia and Kosovo was held in December 2024. In May 2025, newly appointed EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, said the bloc needed “to map out new steps” but reiterated the urgency of normalising relations between the two parties.
Meanwhile, Kosovo continues to face domestic political instability. On Tuesday, the parliament in Pristina failed for the 31st time to constitute a new Assembly following months of deadlock.