The leaders of Serbia and Kosovo will meet in Brussels on Thursday for a new round of talks brokered by the European Union in the hope of easing tensions between Belgrade and Pristina that have led to violent protests in recent weeks, DPA reported. from Agerpres.

“We will have very difficult discussions, we do not agree on almost any issue,” Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Wednesday.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called the meeting after a dispute over car registration numbers and identity documents led to street barricades and even armed violence in late July.

Tensions eased further after Pristina agreed to recognize Serbian-issued car registration numbers for another 30 days.

The exchange of aggressive remarks between Serbia and Kosovo prompted the European Union to issue a statement late last week asking “both sides to immediately stop mutual hostility and dangerous statements and act responsibly.”

Currently, the process of Serbia’s accession to the EU is blocked due to the dispute with Kosovo.

The region of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Belgrade in February 2008, nearly a decade after NATO bombed Serbian forces to stop the killing and expulsion of the region’s ethnic Albanians.

Independence of Kosovo is recognized by more than 100 countries of the world, including 22 out of 27 members of the European Union (exceptions are Spain, Romania, Greece, Slovakia and Cyprus).