Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic on Wednesday became the first government official to visit Pristina at Kosovo's invitation since the territory unilaterally declared independence from Belgrade in 2008.
Dacic was attending a Western Balkans conference on creating the infrastructure for a regional network of highways and railways that was held under the auspices of the European Union.
Dacic's Kosovo counterpart Hashim Thaci was hosting the event.
The visit "is a very good thing for an improvement of our relations and (creation of) opportunities to facilitate movement of goods, capital and people," Dacic told reporters.
Thaci hailed the visit, which took place under tight security, as "a good sign".
"This is a step forward towards the full normalisation of the relations between Kosovo and Serbia," he said.
Kosovo and Serbia were joined at the conference by Albania, Bosnia, Macedonia, and Montenegro.
Since the ethnic Albanian majority broke away from Belgrade in 2008, Dacic and other top Serbian officials have occasionally visited areas of Kosovo populated by the ethnic Serb minority.
However this is the first time a Serbian minister has visited at the request of Pristina.
Last October, Kosovo's then foreign minister Enver Hoxhaj visited Belgrade for the first time for a similar regional conference.
Serbia refuses to recognise Kosovo as an independent state, but in 2013 Pristina and Belgrade signed an EU-brokered agreement to normalise ties.
This enabled Belgrade to start EU accession talks a year later.
The accord was the first breakthrough since the 1998-1999 Kosovo war, which ended after Serbian armed forces withdrew from the territory following an 11-week NATO bombing campaign.
More than 100 countries, including the United States and most of the EU's 28 member states, have recognised Kosovo's independence.
Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic on Wednesday became the first government official to visit Pristina at Kosovo’s invitation since the territory unilaterally declared independence from Belgrade in 2008.
Dacic was attending a Western Balkans conference on creating the infrastructure for a regional network of highways and railways that was held under the auspices of the European Union.
Dacic’s Kosovo counterpart Hashim Thaci was hosting the event.
The visit “is a very good thing for an improvement of our relations and (creation of) opportunities to facilitate movement of goods, capital and people,” Dacic told reporters.
Thaci hailed the visit, which took place under tight security, as “a good sign”.
“This is a step forward towards the full normalisation of the relations between Kosovo and Serbia,” he said.
Kosovo and Serbia were joined at the conference by Albania, Bosnia, Macedonia, and Montenegro.
Since the ethnic Albanian majority broke away from Belgrade in 2008, Dacic and other top Serbian officials have occasionally visited areas of Kosovo populated by the ethnic Serb minority.
However this is the first time a Serbian minister has visited at the request of Pristina.
Last October, Kosovo’s then foreign minister Enver Hoxhaj visited Belgrade for the first time for a similar regional conference.
Serbia refuses to recognise Kosovo as an independent state, but in 2013 Pristina and Belgrade signed an EU-brokered agreement to normalise ties.
This enabled Belgrade to start EU accession talks a year later.
The accord was the first breakthrough since the 1998-1999 Kosovo war, which ended after Serbian armed forces withdrew from the territory following an 11-week NATO bombing campaign.
More than 100 countries, including the United States and most of the EU’s 28 member states, have recognised Kosovo’s independence.
