No progress after Serb leaders from Northern Kosovo meeting with Serbian President

There was no “significant progress” in the meeting with Serbian President Boris Tadić late on Sunday, said leaders of Serb municipalities from northern Kosovo.

After the meeting in Belgrade, they stated that they received assurance that agreement on the deployment of Kosovo Albanian customs officers at the Jarinje and Brnjak crossings was not reached on September 2 along with the agreement on customs stamps, “as EULEX Head Xavier Bout de Marnhac had claimed”.

After a nearly five-hour meeting, Zubin Potok Municipal President Slaviša Ristić told journalists that “the dilemma over the deployment of Kosovo customs officers was resolved in the talks with Tadić”.

However, according to Ristić, the meeting did not bring any significant changes in finding the solution to the crisis in the north of the province, and the removal of barricades.

Ristić said Tadić insisted that talks with KFOR and EULEX be continued, and that, in addition to KFOR, EULEX also be given a freedom of movement, provided they do not transport Kosovo customs officers.