Serbia and Kosovo have agreed on a new border policy under an EU-facilitated dialogue process, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Saturday.
"We have a deal. Under the EU-facilitated Dialogue, Serbia agreed to abolish entry/exit documents for Kosovo ID holders and Kosovo agreed to not introduce them for Serbian ID holders," Borrell said on Twitter.
He said the EU congratulates both Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti on the deal.
"Kosovo Serbs, as well as all other citizens, will be able to travel freely between Kosovo & Serbia using their ID cards. The EU just received guarantees from PM Kurti to this end," Borrell added.
Kurti and Vucic last week took part in the talks chaired by Borrell, which aimed at defusing tensions over Kosovo’s plans to make it mandatory for everyone, including Serbs living in the north, to have a Kosovo ID card and license plate.
Launched in 2011, the EU-led Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue aims to normalize relations between the Western Balkan neighbors.
The last high-level meeting, with the participation of Kurti and Vucic, took place on June 15, 2021.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, with most United Nations member-states, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Türkiye, recognizing it as a separate autonomous country from its neighbor.
Serbia continues to see Kosovo as its territory.
'7 countries withdraw recognition'
Seven countries have withdrawn their recognition of Kosovo's independence amid an impasse over border rules with the Balkan country, Serbia's president claimed on Saturday without naming them, as with an earlier allegation.
Addressing a news conference in the capital Belgrade, Vucic said the representatives of Pristina worked actively to ensure that some large countries in Africa and Asia recognize the independence of Kosovo.
"Belgrade didn't sit idly by either, so now the number of the countries that have withdrawn their recognition has increased from four to seven," said Vucic.
He also commented on the recent remarks of the U.S. Special Envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, who, in an interview with local media, said: "I think we have to forget the narrative that Kosovo is Serbia and move to the one that Kosovo and Serbia are actually Europe."
The Serbian leader defied his remarks, saying: "As president, I neither can nor want to forget that Kosovo is Serbia. But we are talking about a fair man who represents American politics. What do you expect from him? Is this something new? Well, that's what they (from the U.S.) have been telling us for 23 years."
In May, Serbian Foreign Minister Nikola Selakovic said four countries had withdrawn their recognition of Kosovo's independence.
The countries' names, he said, would be announced when it was necessary.