Kosovo Solution is Part of European Peace

Kosovo and Serbia are making progress in normalising relations and should look to the history of reconciliation in other countries as a guide to achieving lasting peace, according to Ulrike Lunacek, European Parliament rapporteur for Kosovo.

"There are plenty of examples in history where warring states achieved a stable peace and even became partners," Lunacek told SETimes in an exclusive interview.

Lunacek said she is hopeful a peace agreement can be reached. "[If not,] all peace efforts would have been doomed to fail from the beginning," she said.

The Belgrade-Pristina dialogue resumed after Serbia's elections last year, and have been characterised by EU Foreign Minister Catherine Ashton as yielding astonishingly positive results compared to Serbia's former government, Lunacek said.

Serbia's new government has since proceeded with the integrated border management agreement -- a visible, yet difficult, step.

"Accepting border stations is an important step towards recognition," Lunacek said.

The EU-mediated dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia is a good example the Union's soft power, Lunacek said.

Click here to read the full article on SETimes.