Escobar: EU proposal about normalisation, not recognition

BELGRADE - US special Western Balkans envoy Gabriel Escobar said on Thursday an EU proposal on normalisation of Belgrade-Pristina relations was an agreement on normalisation, rather than mutual recognition.

Addressing a press conference at the US embassy in Belgrade after a two-day visit during which he met with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and PM Ana Brnabic, Escobar said he expected the leaders in Belgrade and Pristina to be able to hear each other.

He said they should discuss the way forward towards signing the agreement and think about ways of overcoming obstacles.

Escobar added that the US position was that Kosovo was an independent country with territorial integrity and sovereignty, and that Washington believed that mutual recognition would be beneficial to the entire region.

He also said UN membership for Kosovo would bring faster EU integration of not only Kosovo and Serbia, but the entire region as well.